Mass Effect:Building a better Galaxy
by given.matthew
Summary: Winning a war is easy,building a better galaxy is the hard part. This is a multi-chapter sequel to my first story Mass Effect:Something to live for. It tell of the adventures of Shepard and his friends and family five years after the end of ME3 and it will go on as long as I can come up with plot ideas. The first chapter is kind of slow but after that it will pick up,I promise.
1. Chapter 1

**Well I don't own Mass Effect,Duh. This is my first multi-chapter fic and it will go on as long as I can come up with story ideas. It is a sequel to my first fic "Mass Effect:Something to live for" so you may want to read that to get a grip on how I ended the Reaper War and what Shepard is up to before reading this. This story will take a little while to get started but once it does it will have plenty of action and adventure in it. One last thing I don't know how Quarian children age so I am assuming these kids were born just before or during the Reaper War and that the ships their parents were on were destroyed so they are all between 5 and 6 years old. Oh and as always please leave reviews. I hope you enjoy this.**

**Mass Effect:Building a better Galaxy.**

**Chapter 1**

"Come on down kids we need to get going,you know how Joker hates it when we are late" Shepard yelled up the stairs of his and Tali's family home. Finally two of the kids the oldest Rael and the youngest Raan came down the stairs with a travel case strapped to each of their backs,Raan was also holding a small white teddy bear in her hands. Quarians didn't have bears on their planet but Pablo was a gift from Jacob that was given to her when he and his family had visited a short while after she was adopted and she never let him go,to the point that the much loved toy was getting very dirty and so worn that some of his stuffing was coming out. Shepard had to smile whenever he saw her with the bear,Quarian and Human kids were not as different as he had been afraid they would be.

"Well what is the hold up?" Shepard ask looking down at the children who were now in their suits and ready to leave the planet.

"Jeff is being a baby" Rael said a little cruelly "He started yelling and locked himself in his room!" "He is such a baby"

"He is not!" said Raan leaping to the defense of her younger brother standing between Shepard and her older brother and stamping her foot. "He is just sad about something,said he didn't want to go!"

"But we have to go it is our duty and a good Quarian also does his or her duty no matter how hard it is" Rael retorted repeating the first lesson their mother had ever taught them. 'So he is being a baby"

"Okay" said Shepard stepping in before a real fight broke out. 'That is enough" "Rael you don't need to be so mean,it's okay to be upset and sad sometimes" "Now you two go get in the car and I will go see what is bothering Jeff."

"But Dad" Rael whined unwilling to lose an argument to his sister. "What I said was true,he is being a baby"

"Go now!" Shepard said firmly and with that the two children left.

Shepard walked up the steps,turned down the hall,and walked four doors down until he got to Jeff's room. He knocked on the door there was no answer but he thought he could here the faint sound of crying. "Jeff this is your father" He said in an understanding tone. "Are you alright?" Still no answer so he decided to try a different tactic. "Jeff we are going to be late you need to come out so we can go" He said in a firm but gentle tone. This got a reply. "Go away!" Jeff shouted and there was no mistaking the sound of tears in his voice this time. "I don't want to go back to the Citadel,it's a bad place!"

"Please open the door" Shepard returned still keeping his voice calm "Why don't you want to go there,why is it a bad place?" No answer. "You can tell me,I will understand"

"No you can't because you are human"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Shepard asked now feeling a little worried about his son,what could the problem be? There was still no answer and then Jeeves walked up.

"Perhaps I would be able to reason with the young master" He said in a helpful tone.

'No thanks Jeeves,I will handle this" Shepard knew the Geth meant well but as much as he liked to think of himself as being as smart as his namesake Shepard knew that when dealing with people and their feelings he was closer to Bertie Wooster then his namesake.

"Jeff I am your father and I am ordering you to open up this door" Still no reply,he was just about to go downstairs and get the key card when Tali came up behind him.

"John,Rael and Raan told me what is going on,please go downstairs and let me talk to him"

"Okay I guess I have tried everything I can do" Shepard agreed and then he slowly walked away. He was worried,it wasn't like Jeff to act like this and he couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Jeff'Shepard Vas Ranoch this is your mother" Tali said turning to the door and knocking on it. "Open this door I just want to help you stop crying" The door slowly opened and on the other said Tali saw the face of a very upset and and scared boy that would not look up to meet her gaze.

"Am I in trouble?" He asked shifting from one foot to the other.

"No you are not Jeff" Tali answered in a comforting voice while bending down and taking him in a big hug. "I do need to know what is wrong,you don't have your helmet on yet"

"I don't want to put it on" Jeff said while crying into her shoulder. "I hate the suit"

"Now Jeff" she said explaining it to him. "You know that you need it to be healthy off world,it has never bothered you before so what has changed?" The small boy looked down at the ground again. "Why don't we go sit on your bed and you can tell me all about it. She offered. This seemed to do the tick and he looked up at her eyes red from crying and she carried him to the bed and they sat down.

"So what is the problem?"

"Well" he said looking shy and upset. "Promise you will not laugh or be mad like Rael"

"I'm your mother I would never do that" She said looking him straight in the eyes. She was a little mad at Rael right now,he was a good enough kid but he did sometimes go too hard on his younger siblings.

"Okay I'll tell you" He said wiping the tears from his eyes. "last time we went to the Citadel I was in daycare while you and Dad did your work and none of the kids would play with me. He stopped for a few seconds finally Tali urged him to continue but she was sure she already knew the reason. "They said I was a worthless Suit Rat"

"That's was very wrong of them." Tali said patting his shoulder trying to comfort him. She knew his pain all too well. "But those children were stupid and you can't let what stupid people say bother you."

Jeff interrupted her and continued his story barely holding back the tears. "They kept following me yelling Suit Rat Go Home! I got into a fight with them and the teacher made me sit in the corner."

"Why didn't you tell your father or I about this?!" Tali asked her voice a mixture of shock and anger at the kids who had dared pick on such a sweet little boy.

"I told Rael and he told me not to." Jeff explained looking down. "He said that you and dad had more important things to do and a good Quarian takes care or his own problems. I am so sorry" he said now crying and hiding his head in his mother's lap. "I didn't mean to be bad,I am sorry I am told you about this!" Tali thought for a few moments about what she was going to say and then lifted her son's head up dried his tears and spoke to him making sure he was looking her in the eyes.

"First of all Jeff Rael is an idiot." She said gently but warmly. Either she or John were going to have to have a talk with the lad. "A good Quarian can always count on his family and should bring all his problems to them. Being close and handling our problems together is what makes the Quarians great and strong,if anything is bothering you I want you to tell me or your father about it do you understand?" The child nodded. "Second those kids were idiots and were just picking on you because they were cowards and saw you were alone,but getting into a fight was not the right thing to do."

"But what they said hurt and I was mad." The boy said looking up at her a little confused. "What should I do?"

"Tell your teacher next time and if they don't do anything about it call your father or I using the comlink in your helmet and we will come and deal with it and we will have some strong words for your teacher."

"That doesn't stop them from making fun of me." The boy looked down pouting. "They are being mean why can't I fight back?"

"Because not getting into a fight over words makes you the better person."

"It sure doesn't feel like it.

"Well it does." Tali said firmly. "The Quareans have always been treated badly by other races but we don't fight them and that has made us all the stronger"

"How did you handle it when it happened to you?" The boy ask looking up to her.

"I am sad to say that I didn't handle it much better then you did." Tali said with a little laugh. "And I was much older then you but guess what something that was done to hurt me ended up being the best thing that had ever happened to me."

"How could that be?" The boy was very puzzled now.

"Well said Tali if you will put your mask on and start packing the things you need to take with you I will tell you,do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal." the boy said smiling for the first time since his mother had entered the room.

"Well it all started many years ago." Tali began the story "This was before the Reaper war and before we had made peace with the Geth and we had a home world. You know how I told you that Quarians used to live on ships?" The boy now with his mask on looked over at her from the other side of the room where he was doing his packing and nodded. "Well this was back then." "I was on my pilgrimage and while I was on a deserted planet looking for a gift to take back to the fleet I was attacked by the Geth!"

"What happened?!" The boy asked shocked,he was six and only barely understood that his mother and father had been hero in a war that ended just before he was born.

"Well I had to run from them for a long time but I managed to destroy them after a few days on the run. When I finished fighting them I found some data that proved a SPECTRE was a traitor and that he was trying to bring back the Reapers."

"What did you do then?" The boy ask now completely engrossed in the story.

"I got a ride on a passing ship and went to the citadel,the counsel needed to be warned."

"So you warned them?"

"No,not right away. You see I had to go to C-SEC and show them,back then a Turian was running C-SEC and he told me that all us Suit Rats were liars and thieves and he was not going to spend time listening to me and if I didn't leave he would lock me up. I was hurt and mad just like you and I yelled at him and cursed him but in the end he had his men throw me out. Getting angry at him for being an idiot didn't get me what I wanted in the end. A few years latter in the middle of the Reaper war that same Turian came to me and asked for my help getting Turians of of one of their worlds that was under attack."

"He must have felt silly after how he treated you."

"He didn't even remember me."

"What did he do when you told him?"

"I didn't."

"Why not?"

"Because I wanted to be the better person and I saw that bringing up old pain would not help anything. Plus I decided that if he was such a fool that my actions alone would not show him what a fool he had been getting into a fight with him or yelling at him would not change his mind,Do you understand?"

"I think I do" The boy said closing his case and putting it on his back. "I still don't understand how getting kicked out by the Turian was the best thing that ever happened to you."

"Well" Tali said explaining "After he kicked me out I tried to make a deal with some crooks thinking that they would be able to get my warning out there. They double crossed me and tried to kill me but some one saved my life. It was John,your father he was looking for my proof and invited me to come with him to stop the Geth and the Reapers."

"Oh now I see." The Boy said understanding "If that Turian had taken your proof the Counsel would have had it and you would have never met dad."

"That's right." Said Tali smiling behind her mask. "Speaking of don't you think we have kept him waiting long enough."

"Yeah" said the boy giggling. "The President of the Counsel can't be late,he could get into trouble".

A few minutes latter the whole family was in the car with Shepard in the driver's seat. Jeeves was standing outside the house to watch them leave. Shepard decided to take a parting shot at the Geth. "Now no wild parties while we are gone and remember what happened last time if my fish die don't replace them I will know!" With that the car lifted up into the sky before Jeeves could come up with a response.

"So what was the problem I would not understand?" Shepard asked turning to his wife.

"I'll tell you latter when we are alone" Came her reply.

Shepard nodded and drove.

The flight to the Ranoch capital city of _New Promise _went quietly with the kids looking out their windows in awe at the plains,hill,and valleys that spread out under the car. Other then a few houses factories,and mines there was not much between the Shepard house and _New Promise_ most of the planet was still empty but after about fifteen minutes glint of the sun off of the sky scrappers of the city could be seen. There were not many of them and in fact just barely a million people live in the city but it was still the largest one on the planet and the sky scrappers stood out on the empty plane like lighthouses on the ocean in days gone by.

"Can we go by the statue" Raan asked in her usual sweet voice. Shepard sighed he didn't like going by that thing. "PPPllllleeeeaassse" Raan pleaded.

"There is no need for you to be upset let them see it." Tali said sweetly.

"Oh alright" Shepard said giving in. He had never been able to turn down a request from both his girls. He lowered the car's altitude so that it was just above the ground ant followed the road to the center of the city. In the center was a giant bronze statue that was about fifty feet high and on the bottom were engraved the words "The moment of Reunion" The statue was really three figures a Quarian on the right,a Geth on the left,and Shepard in the middle reaching out and uniting the Geth and Quarian's hand in a handshake. The kids loved seeing it but Shepard hated it. He didn't like being turned into a larger then life hero and besides it was showing a moment that never happened.

Tali could tell what he was thinking and leaned over as they drove past it and said to her husband "I don't think it is that bad and besides look at it this way it inspires people to be better then they are.

"I guess I can live with that." Shepard said sighing "I just wish they were not looking at me to inspire them."

A few minutes latter they made it to the spaceport on the other side of the city and parked on the largest landing pad was The Normandy. The ship had been refitted to carry Shepard and his family wherever they needed to go in safety and comfort. These days it was it known as Counsel Star ship One but Shepard and everyone else who had served on her would always think of her as the Normandy,the best ship the Human race had ever built.

Shepard parked the car and he and his family made their way to the ship as half a dozen crewmen came to get their stuff out of the car and take it on board. Shepard stepped through the airlock and turned to face the pilot's station.

"Permission to come aboard Captain Joker" He said with a smile. Joker was now the captain but it didn't stop him from flying the ship.

"Get your ass on this ship,it took you long enough to get here." Joker said turning to face Shepard and then added "Oh sorry." when he saw the kids right behind him. Shepard just gave him a stern look and then laughed.

The Normandy now had a much smaller crew that lived on decks two and four. She could still hold her own in battle but she had been refit so a family could travel in her. Shepard and Tali's room was on deck one,little had changed over the years except some of Tali's stuff was still there and Shepard had moved his fish to his home on Ranoch. Deck three now not only had the med bay,mess,and main guns but it also had rooms for the kids and a big family room where the whole family could relax,play games,or watch some vids. Over all the changes were not huge but the Normandy was now a transport first and a warship second. It would take three days to the Citadel which was still in orbit around earth so the family took some time to settle in. After dinner Tali played with the kids while Shepard was up in their room doing paperwork,he hated paper work. After the kids went to bed Tali made her way up to Her and John's quarters.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you look in that skin tight suit." Shepard said slyly putting down his paperwork and turning to face his wife.

"Really." Tali replied as she made her was other to him and they put their arms around each other. "Because as I recall the first time I came up here you couldn't wait to get me out of it."

"That is because you are so sexy in it I wanted to see what was underneath."

After a few moments they lay down in bead Shepard was looking at Tali as if he was getting ready to say something.

"What is it?" Tali asked.

"Well" John said. "I have been thinking that maybe getting the kids into suits and traveling every time I am needed at the Citadel is too much for them and maybe after this trip you should stay home with them and I should just go alone."

"Oh no." Tali said sternly "We are not doing that." I think the kids would be much worse off not seeing their father for months at a time." "Plus the work Liara and I are heading up on that thing we found in the center of the Citadel is important,not only is it the key to get the Citadel out of earth orbit but it could also be the key to Mass Relay free FTL travel."

"I guess you are right." Shepard said with a sigh "I was just thinking about the kids and how hard this must be on them."

"You love them John,that more then makes up for how hard this is." Tali said as she brought her mask to his face.

"Yeah I just don't think I will have all that much free time this trip because of all the problems we are facing."

"Well you can't do anything about them tonight so just forget about them and let's have some fun." Tali said climbing on top of him and taking off her mask.

"That's why I love you" Shepard said with a smile. "You are smarter then me."

**Well there you have it Chapter one. More chapters will be coming soon and I promise they will have action and adventure in them. I hope you don't see this as a pointless chapter I just wanted focus more on the family interactions then I did in my first story and show that problems like hatred don't go away overnight. Oh and I know that in the games they said that Quarian children live in bubbles but one of the reasons this took so long to show up was that every time I put the kids in them I could not find a way for the kids to interact with the story so I just put them in suits. Please leave reviews,even if you didn't like it I would like to know why,the next chapter will be coming soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**First off thanks for the positive feedback it really makes my day. Also the fact that I am getting it for fan fiction I write for fun has encouraged me to get off my bottom and write my own stuff. So thanks again. This is going to be an action/adventure chapter that sets up what happens latter. Don't worry the main focus is still on Shapard and Tali's family and we will get back to them next chapter. Thanks for reading and leaving feedback and I hope you enjoy this.**

**Chapter 2**

Kasumi Goto was hiding in a small alcove trying to catch her breath. "How did she keep getting into these messes?!" She wondered to herself. "This was supposed to be a simple job,just steal a statue from one of the few remaining Batarian outposts for a wealthy Elcor businessman. It should have been a quick in and out job and yet here she was on the run and she would be lucky to get off this moon alive." She was brought out of her thought by the sound of boot at the end of the hall. She peeked out and could see two Batarian guards coming towards her. She quickly looked around for options. The air ducts were too small for her to craw through,the door at the other end of the hall was sealed and there was not enough time to hack it,and even cloaked there was not enough space between the two guards for here to get past them. She would have to fight and hope she lived to tell about it. How could one small statue get her into so much trouble?

** Well it was now or never,she took a deep breath and leaped out of the alcove. The two guards raised their riffles at her,but she jumped into the air kicking the riffle out of the guard on the left's hand while stabbing the guard on the right in the neck with her knife. Before the other guard could recover she elbowed him in the back of the neck sending him to the ground,she then pulled out her pistol and shot him in the back of the head. She looked around,she didn't see or hear any more guards. Finally some luck! She made a dash for the end of the hall and was just about there when she heard a load sound coming from around the corner and the ground started shaking under her feet. A second latter it was around the corner and she saw it in full battle armor with a riffle and she knew she could not escape that way,so she did the only thing she could think of,she ran the other way. The large **Yagh let out a cry and gave chase but for some reason it was not shooting out her. He must be toying with me she thought. She was keeping a few steps ahead of him when she had to stop. "Damn! The same locked door." She did the only thing she could think to at the moment,just as the Yagh lowered his head and charged for the kill she did a back flip over him and he hit the door with a loud crash! She had no time to lose,she climbed onto his back and stuck her knife into his spine. The blade broke but the beast fell to the floor dead. Kasumi then looked up and saw that when the Yagh hit the door he had forced it open just enough for her to squeeze through sideways. She smiled to herself "maybe things would work out for her like they always did,after all she could now get into security control so she at least had a chance and she had killed a Yagh." "How many people in the galaxy could say they had done that?"

She squeezed through the door and then turned to look around the room only to find six Batarians forming a half circle and pointing guns at her. She dropped to the ground and with a spin kick knocked the guard's legs out from under them,she then shot two of them as she flipped over the others,and once she landed engaged her cloak just as the other four guards got up and pointed their guns in her direction. Her cloak would not last more then a few minutes but with the room mostly empty beside the elevator in the middle and the control consoles at least it gave her a chance. The guards spread out and started fanning across the room try to find her. She hid behind a security console she was trying to decide what her next move should be when a guard came up on each side of the console. They were not aware of her but still with not much time left on her cloak she didn't like having a guard on both her right and left hand side. She decided to take a chance,it was risky but she didn't have any other choices at the moment. She jump up on the security console and grabbed the head and neck of the guard to her right,with a load Snap his neck broke and he dropped to the ground. The guard that had been on her left hand side was now behind her and in front of her some ways off were the two other guards. The closest guard in front of her turned and with out thinking fired in her direction,she dropped to the ground just in the nick of time and the bullets hit the guard behind her and he dropped to the ground with a thud.

She still had two guards to deal with and now they were standing close to each other,she could not get between them,and she had less then a minute left on her cloak. She had wanted to save her Flash bang but she couldn't think of anything else to do in the time she had so she tossed it at the two guards. It went off and they staggered back from each other,they were trying to get their barrings but they were still on their feet. She didn't have much time. Kasumi rushed at the guard closest to her,put her gun to his chest and shot him. It was then that her cloak gave out and the last guard brought he riffle to bare on her. Without thinking she jumped in the air just as he fired at her,she put on bullet in his head and they both hit the floor at the same time.

Kasumi was in pain,she looked and saw that the last guard had put a bullet in her left shoulder. She quickly applied Omni-Gel to the wound and lay back. She was almost completely spend and just wanted to lay down and sleep but there was no time for that. She heard the sound of guards on the other end of the door trying to pull the Yagh's body out of the way,she had to work fast. She ran to the main security console. It only took her a few moments to hack it but it felt like years to her. The first thing she did was take control of the elevator and bring it down to her level so that no more guards could get in that way. It sounded like the guards had finally moved the massive body and were now breaking the door the rest of the way open. She didn't have much time so she up loaded the custom virus she had prepared for this mission into the computer. She made sure the virus had done it's job taking out the security cameras,surface to air guns,and jamming all comlinks so that the guards could no longer talk to each other via radio before making a mad dash to the elevator just as the guards got the door open. They fired at her but she just made it and hit the button for the landing bay and the doors slammed shut. She was safe and had a few moments to catch her breath before she had to dance with death yet again.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened onto the empty hall that led to the landing bay. "At last some luck,no guards in the hall!" Kasumi thought to herself. She crept down the hall. Normally she didn't know fear on a heist,after all fear can get you killed,but right now she was sweating. She made it to the entrance to the landing bay and just before a guard turned and saw her she ducked behind some crates. She took a careful look around and saw that despite her best efforts she had no idea how she was going to get to the closest shuttle. Between her and the shuttle were at least a dozen Batarians and three Yogh. "Oh well at least her virus had opened the door so she didn't need to worry about that,but how was she going to get past those guards. She had to think fast it would not take them long to find her here and she only had two shots left in her pistol. For the first time in her life since she lost Keiji's death she was was feeling helpless and as if there was nothing she could do to save herself. Then she noticed it,there was a vent behind her and another one behind the shuttle where no one was looking. The vents in the landing bay were much bigger then the ones in the rest of the base because they had to suck out the exhaust of the landing and taking off shuttles. She quickly but quietly took the grate off of the vent behind her and climbed inside. She made her way through the vents slowly so as not to make noise. Finally after what seemed like hours she found the opening she was looking for,she could see daylight and the shuttle. There was a problem,the noise of her knocking the grate off and jumping to the floor behind the shuttle would alert the guards,she had to find a distraction of some kind. A few minutes latter she got her distraction. The whole room began to shake and then all that could be heard was the deafening noise of a shuttle or some type of aircraft passing overhead. Kasumi took her chance kicked off the grate and dropped to the ground and quickly made here way to the shuttle down make sure to keep low. She looked under the shuttle,so far so good none of the guards were looking her way. She began hacking the lock,now came the hard part she got past the lock with out any trouble but the moment the door opened all the guards turned and started firing. She leaped in,slammed the door shut,and jumped into the pilot's seat as the bullets impacted on the side of the shuttle. It wouldn't take the guards long to get the door open so she had to risk starting the engines cold. She turned them on,then she turned the shuttle to face the open door of the docking bay,and then she had the shuttle blast out at top speed. She looked back at the ground as the shuttle climbed into the sky and saw heading into another docking bay the shuttle that had saved her life. That was odd it was a Hanar shuttle,what were Haner and Yagh doing at a base the Batarians used to smuggle black market artifacts,and what was so special about the small statue she was carrying with her?

She didn't have long to think about the problem because just then a warning light begane to flash on the control console. There were two Batarian battle cruisers closing in on her,that had not been there when she arrived 12 hours ago so either they had brought the shuttle or they wanted what she had badly enough to call in two battle cruisers to shoot down one shuttle. Her only hope was to make it to the mass relay before they got her. She pulled ever trick she could think of slowing down,speeding up,changing course suddenly but they were still gaining. After about five minute of this her shuttle was hit and it began to lose speed. The mass relay was only seconds away if she could just dodge the next few shots she would be safe. She pulled to the side suddenly and the shots just barely missed the shuttle she was trying to figure out what to do next when she was thrown to the floor by the force of the shuttle hitting the mass relay.

"Yeah!" She yelled at the top of her lungs happy to be alive. "I am still the best!"

She then sat down she had to think about her next move. One thing was for sure she did not trust the Elcor who had set her up and she needed to have her wounded tended to. She decided to head for Omega,she knew she could hide there and get her shoulder taken care of.

She needed to know what was going on so she took the small statue of a Krogan warlord out of the pouch it at been in the whole time. There was nothing special about it except that it looked to be about 3000 years old and the type of thing a collector of Krogan artwork would pay for. It was a little light for something made of stone. She wondered,could it be hollow? She decided to see so she threw it to the floor hard and it broke into dozens of pieces with a crash. In the middle of the wreckage she saw a data disk. "So this is what they wanted back" She thought to herself. She decided to see what was on it so she picked up the disk and plugged it into her Omni-Tool. It was encoded was sure she could crack the code but just then the disc made beeping noise and a virus went from it to her Omni-Tool and her Omni-Tool shut down completely.

Kasumi sad in the pilot's seat and held the disc looking at it. "What could be on you that is so important" she said thoughtfully "One thing is for sure whoever programed you was good and had something important to protect and now I need to know what it is."

**Well that is it for another chapter. I hope you liked it. Next chapter will be back to Shepard and Tali and it will be coming soon. Please leave a review and thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

** "**Everyone got everything?" Shepard asked the three children as they stood outside their rooms on deck three of the Normandy.

"Yes" they all replied holding up the cases they had packed.

"Raan Do you have Pablo?"

"I have him right here."She said holding up the bear.

"Alright then you are good to go."

Just then the elevator door opened behind Shepard and EDI stepped out.

"Jeff wanted me to tell you that we have just past Mars and will be at the Citadel in ten minutes" The A.I reported.

"I didn't tell you to say that!" Said Shepard's son looking up at EDI.

"I meant Captain Moreau,who is piloting the ship"

"I know" Said the young Quarian giggling "I was just joking"

EDI looked at Shepard "It's seems you are raising a young comedian"

"Well at least this comedian isn't trying to fly the ship and be funny at the same time" Shepard said with a smile.

"Dad can we go up and watch the ship dock at the Citadel?" Rael asked.

"I'll check" Shepard said hitting a button on his Omni-Tool "Hey Joker can you handle some company while you bring us in?"

"I think I can handle it as long as they behave" Came Joker's reply.

"Okay,You can go up" Shepard said looking down at the kids. "But you have to keep quiet and not get into Captain Moreau's way,understand."

"Yes' they all said as they all ran into the elevator and hit the button for the Combat Information Center.

"So" EDI said turning to Shepard "After observing you I see that children do not always have to be related for an organic to love them."

"Well I am lucky they are such good kids and I have Tali."

"Do you think adopting would be a good solution for me and Jeff to fulfill our need for a family?"

"Have you talked to Joker about this?" Shepard asked somewhat surprised.

"No,I thought if I came to him with your input he would be more likely to approve of the idea"

"Well I am not getting in the middle of this" Shepard said stepping into the returned elevator "This is something you and Joker will have to work out on your own"

"I see" Said EDI a little sadly.

A few seconds latter Shepard was on deck one and glad that he had the excuse of having to help Tali pack up the last of their stuff as an excuse to get out of that situation.

In the cockpit the kids were now looking out the window in awe. This wasn't the first time they had been to the Citadel and it was still being repaired from the war,but that didn't make the sight of the massive space station silhouetted against earth any less impressive.

"Ladies and Gentlemen" Joker said to the kids crowded around him. 'If you look ahead you will see the Citadel,headquarter of the Galactic Counsel and behind that you can see Earth birthplace of the Human race."

"So that is really where dad grew up?" Jeff asked.

"No" Raan said turning her head to look at her brother "He grew up on a Mindbar,a planet human settled in deep space,remember"

"Oh yeah that is right" Jeff said looking out the window again. "I forgot"

"Well kids" Joker said "I grew up on Earth,that should count for something"

"Yeah" said Rael "But you are not a war hero like our dad."

All Joker could do was smile to himself. "Kids,what do they know?" He said under his breath.

A few minutes latter the ship was docked and Shepard was stepping out of the ship followed by his family. He looked around and was a little taken aback by the number of C-SEC guards standing around and how well armed they were. He was used to having one or two guards around him since he became President but nothing like this. Something must be wrong,he saw Jacob Taylor standing off to the right in front of the guards. He motioned for his family to stay by the ship and walked up to muscular dark skinned human.

"Executor Taylor" Shepard said holding out his hand.

"Welcome back to the Citadel, " Jacob said taking his hand and shaking it. There was something about the expression on Jacob's face that told Shepard something was wrong. Jacob had never been the all smiles type but since the suicide mission against the collectors and Shepard had asked him to take charge of C-SEC three years ago Jacob and his family had become close but now there was something distant about Jacob as his he was having trouble finding the courage to say something Shepard did not want to hear. Shepard decided to break the ice.

"What is with all the guards Jacob?" Shepard asked trying to keep things light and break through the tension.

"Sorry sir" Jacob had a grim look on his face and his tone told Shepard that he was not about to back down from a position he was taking. "I know when you gave me this job you told me you didn't want a bunch of guards cutting you off from the average people but you also said you would listen to me and well I think you need to listen to me now.

"Okay I will listen to whatever you have to say,but the final choice is still mine"

"Fair enough" Jacob sighed. "Director Lawson has picked up some chatter and she told me she has reason to believe your life is in danger,and the Batarians are involved"

"That's not new,they have wanted me dead ever since the counsel vote not to put me on trail for war crimes and that is the main reason they refused to join the counsel."

"This is different." Jacob said looking Shepard square in the eyes. "I don't know the details but it has got Miranda worried and I don't like taking chances" Seeing the look of Shepard's face Jacob placed a hand on his shoulder and added "Look it's one thing back when you were just risking your own life in a war but you have a family now and if anything happened to them neither of us would be able to to forgive ourselves."

Shepard looked back at his family and sighed Jacob was right and he knew it,he turned back to Jacob. "Alright you can keep the guards looking after us and scanning things but we are not going to hold up in the Presidential Suit,I defeated the Reapers I can handle this sort of thing and I want my kids to have a normal life so no more then a few extra guards and the kids are still going to school."

"Okay" Jacob said.

Shepard returned to his family and began picking up cases,he smiled hoping that would make them feel better.

"What is wrong" Tali asked and he could hear the worry in her voice.

"Nothing really." Shepard said turning his smile to her. "I am pretty sure it will turn out to be nothing."

"Then why all the guards?!" Tali pushed.

"I don't really know all the details,when I do and we are alone I promise I will tell you"

"Okay" Said Tali still sounding a little worried,She and Shepard turned back to the kids to make sure they had not worried them.

"Hey kids!" Tali said. "Let's go find a Taxi and get home"

"And then we will have something to eat" Shepard added.

The family walked off talking and joking as if everything was normal but the guards in front and behind them would tell anyone things were far from normal.

The Presidential Suit was really a multistory house that sat just off of the Citadel commons,it had been built two years ago to house the President of the Counsel and his family,at the moment that happened to be Shepard. The guard made a complete sweep of the building before letting the family in and then five Guard went in with them in addition to the guards who normally stood watch outside of the house and grounds. Tali and Shepard could tell the children were getting confused and worried,nothing like this had happened before.

The family was busy for the next hour or so getting unpack and ready to spend the next few months in their second home. Once they were done unpacking they sat down for dinner. Dinner pasted in silence until Rael spoke up and Shepard and Tali could tell from his tone he was a little worried.

"Mom,Dad is something wrong?" He asked.

Shepard looked at the boy and gave him a faint smile. "No nothing is really wrong son"

"Then why all the guards and how come there are so many guards around and why wouldn't they let us go into the house right away?"

Tali jumped in at this point. "Sometime a man as important as your father has to be careful,it doesn't mean anything is wrong it just means that he loves us and is not going to take any chances." "There isn't any real danger he is just being careful,do you understand?"

"I guess so" Rael said returning to his food.

Tali's answer seemed to calm the children and the rest of the night pasted with out event. Shepard was going to talk to Miranda right after dinner but he found he was tired and he had a heavy day in front of him tomorrow so he decided the matter would keep and he would talk to her in the morning. It was most likely nothing any way.

Shepard arrived at the Counsel chambers a little early. They had changed quite a bit since he stood in front of them all those years ago and became the first Human SPECTER. For one thing their were more races in the counsel,any race could ask for membership if their people agreed to abide by Counsel rulings and laws and no race had yet been turned away,Shepard was proud of this fact. He hated politics but he was glad the Counsel was no longer an exclusive club for four powerful races who controlled every thing. Facing the proscenium where people who wish to speak to the counsel would stand there was now a long half circular desk with holographic controls and places for each of the eleven races and his seat in the middle. Shepard took his seat and sat down and slowly the Counselor from each race came in and took their places.

"Now comes the hard part" Shepard thought to himself and sighed.

"This meeting of the Citadel Galactic Counsel is now in session and will come to order" He said in a loud voice and then banged his gavel on the desk.

Tali's day started as most of her days did when she was on the Citadel. First she got up and got the kids read for school or daycare then after they had left she talked with her husband as she got her tools and notes read for her own work. She then met her SPECTER escort and made her way to the best kept secret in all of Citadel space. Getting to object Alpha as the thing had been named was hard,it had been well hidden and for untold eons only the Keepers had known it existed,and if the Citadel had not been so badly damaged in the war it is likely no one would ever have found it. No it was surrounded by a huge number of computers and tools,the smartest and most trusted people in the galaxy were working on the mystery of what this thing was. The chamber what small and dark,the walls were covered with alien writing that sometime glowed with energy and in the center sat the object. It looked like perfectly round stone boulder just sitting in the middle of the floor and if it had not been for the fact that there was a faint blue glow all around it and the fact that it could not be moved that is what everyone would have thought it was.

Tali greeted her team and then made her way over to Liara who was staring intently at some writing on the far wall. Tali and Dr.T'soni were joint heads of the project and at first it had surprised Tali just how well they worked together with Tali handling the technical aspects and Liara handling the translation of the alien writing. Tali worried about the Asari sometime,it was hard to get her to leave work and Tali wasn't sure she had even left the Citadel in the past three years.

"So have we learned anything new since I was last here?" Tali asked.

"What?!" The Asari spun around with a look of shock on her face,she had not heard Tali walk up behind her.

'Sorry" Talking said giggling a little to herself. It was nice seeing the old Liara come back and the harsher Shadow Broker that the war had created slowly fade to nothing over the past few years.

"Not your fault" Liara said standing up and brushing some dust off of her pants. "I was not paying attention. How are your kids and how is Shepard?"

"They are fine" Tali reply lightly. She was glad she and Liara had been able to become friends even though she suspected that Liara had had a thing as the humans called it for her husband back in the old SR-1 days but that was behind them now and the two made pleasant small talk for a few minutes before getting back to work.

"So what have we learned while I was gone?" Tali asked again.

"Not much" Liara replied a little sadly. "Energy readings spiked by 2% a week ago then it returned to normal and the writing I have been working on translating for the past two months is somewhat interesting"

"The energy spike is odd" Tali said thoughtfully. "The energy readings have been 100% steady since we started monitoring them three years ago,they have never changed." "I had better have a look at all the data from around that time,but what is so interesting about this writing?" Tali asked pointing to the section of wall Liara had been looking at a few minutes ago.

"Well it seems to be something along the lines of a warning not to let the Reapers or _anyone with darkness in their heart_ gain control of the object.

"That sounds kind of scary" Tali said as chill ran down her spine but then continued more cheerfully "But at least we now know for sure that it can be controlled.

"Indeed,but the question is how"

"Don't worry we beat the reapers,we will figure this lump of rock out."

Jeff sat in the playground sand box building a sandcastle. He liked building,it was something he was good at and he didn't need friends for it. Suddenly his sandcastle was kicked to pieces and he looked up to see a large human boy followed by a few other Human and Turian children that the boy seemed to be leading.

"This is our sandbox" The boy said glaring down at Jeff "There is no place in it for suitrats!"

Jeff looked around for a teacher or some other adult as a mixture of panic and sadness filled him,he wanted to cry but he decided to stand up for himself instead.

"I have as much right to be here as you do!" He yelled.

"Get going" The boy said putting a fist up to Jeff's visor. "Or we will tare a hole in your suit!"

Just then from off to the right another boy stepped between Jeff and the bully,he glared at the bully. "Hey! This kid" He said motioning behind him to Jeff "Is my friend and if you start a fight with him you have to fight me!" Jeff didn't know the new boy and was shocked to notice he was a Vorcha. Vorcha had always scared him and for a second he thought of running away but then he decided that he would be treating the Vorcha the same way other kids treated him so he just stood there.

The other kids didn't want to pick a fight with a strong kid who had sharp claws and teeth so they ran away. The Vorcha then turned to Jeff and just looked at him.

Jeff was scarred but decided to screw his courage to the sticking point and talk talk to the kid. "T T Thanks." He said weakly "But why did you help me,I have never met you before"

"I know what it is like to have the other kids pick on you and not play with you" the Vorcha replied "People hate Vorcha because they think we are monsters."

Jeff looked down at the ground,he now felt ashamed for wanting to run away and being scared of this kid. "My name is Jeff,what is yours" He said holding out his hand like he had seen his father do many times before.

The Vorcha looked at Jeff's hand for a minute a little unsure what to do but then took it in his and Jeff started shaking it. "My name is Krowdon" He said "my dad says outsiders like us have to stick together"

"That sounds like a good idea" Jeff said and then he got an idea. "Hey would you like to come over to my house and play after school."

"I'll have to check with my mom but I think it would be okay."

"Great!" Jeff said smiling behind his helmet. He couldn't believe it he had made a non Quarian friend,maybe these trips to the Citadel wouldn't be so bad after all.

The session had started out well enough with votes on issues pretty much everyone agreed on but now it had moved to an issue that had been left hanging at the end of the last session. After the war the Salarians had abandoned three planets near Krogan space and the Krogan now wanted the the right to put their own colonies on these planets in order to give their ever expanding population places to live. The Salarians were against this but the Krogan had been quick to remind everyone that the Krogan with their much larger population made up a large percentage of the forces that were keeping the peace in Counsel space and were protecting all the races from raiders and slavers while they rebuilt. The debate had been going on for hours and Shepard was about ready to pull his hair out.

"Enough of this endless debate!" Counselor Wrex yelled banging his fist down on the desk. "I move that we vote"

"I'll second that." Counselor Jackson of Earth said.

"The Motion has been made and seconded." Shepard said glad that he had finally been given a chance to end this and move on. "On the issue of giving the Krogan colony rights on the world in question has does each member race stand,Yay Or Nay?".

"The Salarians?" Well that was forgone conclusion.

"The Salarians vote No" Their conseler said standing up.

"The Volus?"

"The Volus vote Yay."

"The Humans?"

"The Humans vote yes."

"The Krogan?"

"The Krogan vote Yay!"

'The Asari?" Here was a wild card. Aria T'Loak as one of the few Asari to make it out of the war with her wealth and power intact had managed to get herself appointed Counseler and she didn't always vote the way most people would think her government wanted,still there was no reason for her to vote against this move.

"The Asari vote no" Aria said standing up and sitting back down quickly. There was shock all around,if the Asari were against this maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

"The Rachni?" The Rachni were represented by an Asari who had a direct telepathic link to the Rachni queen.

"The Rachni vote nay." That was not much of a surprise,the Rachni were still a little scarred of the Krogan and didn't like seeing them expand too fast.

"The Geth?"

"The Geth collective votes Yay."

'The Quarians?"

"The Quarians vote no" That was a shock,the Asari vote must have brought that on.

"The Turians?"

"The Turians vote nay."

"The Elcor?"

"The Elcor vote no"

"The Vorcha?"

"The Vorcha vote no" Now there was a real shock the Vorcha normally voted with the Krogan.

"The vote is four votes in favor and seven against,the motion is defeated" Shepard said calmly and then he sat down.

"What?!" Wrex Roared rising from his seat. "Is this the thanks we get?!" He then turned his anger to the Asari counselor. "You turned the Counsel against us why?!" "Is it because we have been doing too good a job taking out those Merc groups you claim you do not control any more?!"

Aria just sat back with a smug grin on her face. "oh if only you knew what this was really about" she thought to herself.

Shepard decided it was time to step in. "The motion has been made and defeated the Counselor for the Krogan will return to his seat." He said sternly.

It was only Wrex's respect for Shepard that caused him to listen and sit down but not before giving Aria a glare that would melt ice.

"I move that we end this session and pick up again tomorrow when we all have cooler heads." Shepard said. He didn't have any trouble getting everyone to agree to that.

"Before we go" Aria said standing up. "I would like to announce something to the counsel'

"Go ahead" said Shepard,he hated that a crook like her was on the counsel but there was nothing he could do about it.

"The Asari will be withdrawing all their ships from the Counsel fleets effective today." The inter room was shocked. "We are not withdrawing from the counsel we need them in our space right now to deal with internal matters that do not effect the counsel in any way."

"Are these the same internal matters that have caused you to stop letting other races ships inside your borders over the past three months and have cause most Asari trading ships to return to your space."

"As I said it is an internal matter and we hope to return all of our ships to the service of the counsel soon."

With that she walked out leaving a stunned counsel.

Shepard sat back in the chair behind his office desk he had been listening to Wrex rant for the past ten minutes and decided now was a time to but I.

"Look Wrex,that is nothing I can do unless a vote is tied"

"This is important,We need space Shepard and some Krogan may decide to take those planets any way and none of of want that!"

"Look just give me some time and I will find out what Aria wants and you can bring it up again,okay?"

"Alright" Grunt said with a sigh 'But don't take too long Shepard" and with that he left the office.

Shepard hit a button on his Omni-Tool that connected him with his secretary in the waiting room. "Miss Chambers send the head of the SPECTERS Special Intel division in here!" He was angry and felt helpless,he didn't do well when he was like this.

"Yes sir" Came Chambers' reply and a minute latter Miranda Lawson was standing in front of his desk.

"Why didn't you give me some warning?" He demanded not bothering to hide how angry and tired he was. "You had to have heard something about the Asari voting against this move and them pulling their ships out of the fleets!"

"With all due respect sir we at the SSID have not heard a peep about this and if you paid attention to my reports you would know why" Miranda said hotly defending herself and her department. "All of my Asari operatives have gone dark and we have not been able to get an information in or out of Asari space for two months,we were completely blindsided but all of this"

"Sorry for yelling" Shepard said regaining his calm and sitting down.

"That okay" Miranda said with a sigh "You have a lot on your plate and you have had ever since I met you"

"Okay so any idea why this is happening"

"Not yet but we will find out" Miranda said "I have never failed at anything before and I will not fail at this."

"Okay I trust you to get to the bottom of this" "Now what about these threats that have gotten you and Jacob so worried"

"Well sir as you know for the past few years the Batarian have been raising a lot of money on the black market and they have been using it to rebuild their fleet and now they are contacting a lot of people in Counsel space and we are only hear a little of what they talk about and it leads us to believe you are the target of an operation of some kind."

"Is that all?"

"No sir. Per your request I sent a team to the home world of the Yagh two weeks ago to see if they were still hostile or if we should try to begin talks with them."

"What did they find?"

"There are no Yagh on their home world any more"

"Do you mean the race has been wiped out?"

"No sir there is no sign of that,it looks like they just left somehow"

"Well that is odd who would move them?"

"I think I can answer that,on a mountain last week my team found the wreckage of a Batarian ship."

"Well that is not good"

"No sir,I don't know what is going on yet but it's big and I don't think we should take any chances."

"Agreed" Shepard said leaning back in his chair and putting his hands over his eyes.

Shepard felt stressed as he walked through the down of his home,he didn't know why he had taken this stupid job but the stress was taking a toll on him,already some of his hairs were starting to turn gray. As he stepped into the living room he saw his Quarian children playing and his youngest had a friend,a Vorcha no less helping him build with Legos. He then remembered,he wanted to build this world and make sure the galaxy was a better place for them to live in.

He smiled to himself and and said under his breath "I guess this is worth a little stress".

**Sorry this chapter took so long to come out but I got busy. Thanks for all of your reviews and I am the type of person who doesn't normally notice spelling mistakes so if you see one that means that it made it past my spellchecker please point it out in your review so I know to look for it. I will be editing past chapters to correct spelling and other problems. I hope you enjoyed this chapter,please leave a review. Next chapter coming soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Omega in a way it was strange that Kasumi Goto would feel safer here then anywhere else in the Galaxy. The streets were dirty and full of the desperate and no one knew better then Kasumi what desperate people were capable of. There was no law besides the will of the merc groups and gangs. Danger was around every corner,but she knew this type of danger and could hide in a place like this so she felt safe.

Kasumi had just left the small clinic run by a Salarian named Maelon. She went there because he never asked questions of anyone who came into his clinic. Kasumi guessed that this was because he had done something awful in his past and didn't feel he was in a position to judge anyone. She didn't know what he had done but she could tell when someone was carrying around a lot of guilt and hoping to make up for it before they died somehow.

Now that her shoulder wound had been taken care of she had to decide on her next move. As she looked around the streets she marveled at how little the war that had changed everything else had changed Omega,once Aria had gotten control of it again it had gone back to being what it had always been a hang out for what most people would consider the scum of the galaxy. This gave her an idea,she decided to see if one of her old contracts was still here. It was a long shot but if anyone could hack this data disc it was him. She made her way carefully down the street,that was the only way to go on Omega looking for a terminal she could hack. She found one in a dark corner filled with dirty pasted out drunks and drug users. She hacked it and began looking through what records there were of people living on Omega,she knew he would not be easy to find. She searched for what seemed like hours until she finally found someone that could be him. Drell living under the name Dron(one of the many aliases she knew him by),in a room nine levels down that was right next to the housing for a name computer server. That had to be him,he liked staying near servers so he could hack them. She made her way out of the ally and went to find a cab,she was careful but what she didn't notice was that she was being watched and followed by an expert.

She arrived at level four near the base of the asteroid Omega was built on,she paid the driver and made her way down the dingy streets. This was one of the poorer sections of Omega,the buildings were badly made and so close together that two people could just barely walk between them and they were stacked on top of each other. Kasumi had trained herself not to feel anything,after all feelings could get you killed in her line of work but she couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for the poor souls that found themselves on the streets of this getto. She knew what it was like to be down and out in some of the worst parts of the galaxy. She forced herself to stop thinking about it and started looking for the building she was sure housed her old friend Kello,or as he was calling himself now Dron. She found it after looking for about ninety minutes. It was a run down place with five levels stacked on top of each other right up against one of the metal walls that enclosed this section of the station.

Kasumi made her way to the third level and walked down the hall,she noticed a few well hidden scanners that only a pro like her would know to look for,this had to be his place. She reached the door the computer had said was his at the other end of the dark and dirty hall,she knocked. A minute a latter she was greet with a pistol pointed right at her face,she didn't flinch.

"Hello Quelo" She said with a sly grin. "Or is it Dron now?" He just looked at her as if she was the last person on earth he expected to see. "Is that how you greet an old friend who saved your life once."

"Oh" He said suddenly looking embarrested and lowering his gun. "I'm sorry I didn't know it was you and you can't be to careful on Omega" Kasumi nodded her understanding and when he motioned her to enter she did so closing and locking the door behind her.

He hadn't changed much since Kasumi had last seen him,he still dressed in lose fitting cloths that's only distinctive feature was a large human bowler hat he never seemed to take off and made him hard to miss in a crowd. His room was still closed up and humid like everywhere Drell lived. She saw that his work still came first for him. It was just a one room shack with a bed,toilet,food dispenser,and along table on the far wall. On the table and all over the room were all sorts of computer parts,cords,and monitors hooked up and running all sorts of programs.

"You must be slipping" Kasumi turned said turning to Dron with a small smile still on her face. Despite the fact that they only really saw each other when one of them needed something from the other she still considered the older Drell to be a friend and after the last few days she was glad to be talking to a friend in a safe place at last. "All those scanners you have out there should have told you it was me."

"Oh year those" He said with a grim half smile. "You are right I must be slipping in my old age,they picked up a new computer virus that is going around this morning and I have had to shut them down for a few hours to get rid of it,this never would have happened ten years ago."

Kasumi let out a small giggle at this. "Still you are looking good and it is nice to know somethings never change" She said motioning to the mess in his room.

They had a friendly chat for the next hour or so where they talked and joked about old times and brought each other up to speed on what had happened in each of their lives since they last saw each other a little over two years ago but finally Dron got them to business.

"So why are you here?" He asked "I find it hard to believe you would go to all the trouble of finding me just to have a chat."

"That is true." She said looking him in the eyes. "I need the help of the best computer programer and hacker there is."

"So why did you come to me?" He asked with a smile.

"This is no joke" Kasumi responded and then she held out the data disc. "For some reason a lot people want me dead because of what is on this disc." She continued to explain that she had found the disc in a statue(She didn't give him the details)and that two battleships had tried to shoot her down to get it.

"That is interesting" Dron said thoughtfully. "and you say it took down your Omni-Tool when you tried to hack it?"

"Yes" she said not proud of the fact that a disc had defeated her.

"Sounds like someone improved my old spider web program,you would have spotted the old one.

"Will you help me?" She asked sounding a little desperate.

"Of course I will do anything I can to help you." He said with a smile. "Now kindly be quiet and let me work. With that he took the disc from her hand and turned to his table and began work with out saying another word.

Kasumi paced back and forth in the small room for hours,she was getting sick of being in the dirty place with nothing to do but she knew better then to talk to Dron when he was engrossed in his work. Finally with a cheer of "Ah ha!" He called here over to one of the holo monitors on the desk.

"You finally hacked it?!" Kasumi said excitedly grateful for some good news.

"Only a small part of it" Dron explained. "Whoever made this disc is just about as good as I am" Kasumi thought she heard awe in the old Drell's voice.

"Well what good does that do us?"

"Not much it appears to be mostly a list of names,places,and dates"

"Well I guess that is a little help" Kasumi said with a sigh.

"But here is the interesting part" Dron said pointing to a piece of animation that appeared on the holographic display.

"What is it?"

"It looks like part of a bio cemical formula"

"What does it do?"

"I am no scientist but I am guessing it would depend on what type of life form you gave it to.

Kasumi was about to ask another question when the inter wall exploded and she and Dron where thrown back on the floor. She engaged her cloak and made her way to the hole in the wall peering with the smoke she saw people in the street below running in panic from a large group of Krogan and Vorcha,one of the Vorcha was holding a just fired rocket launcher.

"Crap!,Bloodpack!" She said under her breath and then turned to her friend who was stilling on the floor. "We have to get out of here!" It was then that she saw the blood and the fact that his eyes were open and lifeless. No!,he couldn't be dead. A tear ran down Kasumi's cheek,as far as she knew he had never really hurt anyone in his life and now she had gotten him killed. She didn't have time to morn or feel guilty right now,she looked out the hole again and saw that the Bloodpack mercs were getting ready to storm the building,she had to think of something fast,but the only exit was past them and she couldn't take them all down. "Think Kasumi there must be something you can do!" she thought to herself.

A large Krogan who seemed to be in charge stood in front of everyone else and pointed at the building and shouted. "Remember they want both her and the data so try to take her alive and grab any data discs you find!" As soon as he finished Kasumi was shocked to see him fall over dead,there was a single bullet in his brain. She looked off to the left and two Vorcha and another Krogan were next to drop dead. The Bloodpack troops stopped and began looking around confuse. Kasumi knew that there must be a sniper on one of the buildings down the street and whoever it was had cleared a path for her to run. She jumped into the space that had been cleared and made a mad dash down the street,the Bloodpack could hear her and gave chase! As she ran she fired her gun blindly behind her,two more Vorcha dropped to the ground. Now a Krogan was only about a yard behind her,before she could think of a way to take him down without losing ground three more shots from her unseen ally fell the massive merc. There were no no more Bloodpack close enough to tell where she was while her cloak was on so she ducked into a small side street between two buildings and got behind one of them. Her cloak gave out just as the Bloodpack ran by. She leaned against the wall slowly catching her breath. Suddenly she heard footsteps coming towards here,she pulled out here pistol and pointed it at the figure who was slowly coming out of the Shadows.

"Well hello to you too" He said.

"Garrus!" She was a shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"What,you don't believe that I am just killing Bloodpack scum for the fun of it?"

"Since you are a SPECTRE,no." She said lowering her gun. "You wouldn't be her just for the Bloodpack."

"Well we can talk about that once I get you away from here,my ship in parked on this level's docking bay." "I thought you may need a quick exist"

"Listen I don't know who you think you are but I don't talk to or go anywhere with the Fuzz!" Kasmui stated taking a few steps back from the Turian.

"Lady back on the Citadel when I was with C-SEC I would have locked you up and thrown away the key."

"You wouldn't have been able to catch me" Kasumi interrupted.

"But Now!" Garrus said raising his voice above hers. "I do the dirty things that help keep the piece and I couldn't care less about a pretty thief like you."

"There is nothing petty about" Kasumi butted in again feeling a little mad now.

"Look lady I just saved your life!"

"Who said it needed saving?!"

"The Bloodpack will have this level sealed off if you want to stick with them be my guest" Garrus said with a sigh. "I am offering you a ride off of this station and all I want in return is to know why the Bloodpack wants you dead."

"Okay" Kasumi said giving in. "I guess I stand a better chance with you to distract them."

"Alright lets get moving." Garrus said with a huff.

They managed to make it to the landing bay without running into any more blood pack and now they stood behind a three story building. Peeking out from behind it they could see Garrus' ship. It was a small Turian cargo transport that had been outfitted with turbo charged engines,two ion cannons,and a small mass effect core.

"I see working for the man pays off" Kasumi said.

"It beats having to steal for a living."

"Those Bloodpack Mercs are not going to make it easy for us to get to the landing bay." Kasumi said grimly.

"I think we can get past them."

"What is your idea,I am so desperate I am even open to ideas from a SPECTRE."

"Give me a minute to climb to the roof of this building then throw those three flashbangs you have and make a run for the ship,I will unlock it by remote and snipe anyone who starts to get up."

"What about you?"

"Why Kasumi if I didn't know better I would think you cared."

"I have never bothered caring about government stooges,I just don't want to lose my ride"

With that Garrus made his way up the building. Kasumi waited a minute and then jumped out from behind it throwing her flash bangs,the Mercs were knocked to the ground and dazed! She made a dash past them,one of the Vocha tried to grab here but she stabbed him in the neck. She heard shot and the two Krogan dropped dead,she made a mad dash now firing several shots to scatter the remaining Vorcha. She got to the ship's door and opened it. She could hear more Bloodpack running towards the docking bay. She looked back and saw Garrus running towards her,he made to the ship and they both leaped in and slammed the door behind them just as the Bloodpack made it to the docking bay."

"Get us out of here SPECTRE!" Kasumi yelled.

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

With that the ship lifted off and sped away as fast as it could go.

"So you want to tell me what you were doing on Omega?" Kasumi asked turning to Garus once she was sure they were safe.

"I can't say" Garrus said turning to her.

"I bet I can guess" Kasumi said with a sly smile. "I think you are looking for a backdoor way into Asari space." I know they have been sealing their borders and I am pretty sure the SPECTREs would like to know why."

"You may be right but I would not be able to confirm that while talking to a thief." Garus returned showing a small grin,the first one Kasumi had ever seen on his face.

"Well then why and how did you turn up just when I needed you?"

"Look you may not have thought of yourself as part of the crew but I knew I would never be able to face Shepard again if I told him I saw one of his former crew on Omega with a bullet wound and didn't make sure she was okay and at least try to find out what had happened."

"You were following me for that long?!" Kasumi said shocked.

"See I could have gotten you back in my C-SEC days." Garrus said with another smile.

"Maybe" Kasumi said thoughtfully and then added a slight flirtasous tone to her voice. "One thing is for sure,the chase would have been fun" Despite herself she was starting to like Garrus and decided to have some fun with him.

"So" Garrus said clearing his throat leaning back not comfortable with how close the thief had gotten to him when she leaned forward in her chair. "You want to tell me what is going on."

Kasumi considered not answering him but she decided she needed help on this one and she was sure she could escape if he decided to try and lock her up. She told him the whole story as he listened intently and she could tell he was thinking.

"Well" He said when she finished. "This sounds big whatever it is and more important then what I was doing."

"We can work together" Kasumi said sternly "But we will be partners and you don't get to call all the shots"

"Why should I agree to that?" Garrus asked slyly. "After all I did save your life and this is my ship"

"Because I may be able to tell you why the Asari have closed their border"

"What?!" Garrus said it was now his turn to be shocked. "What do you know?"

"No,No,No." Kasumi said playfully stepping closer to Garrus and wagging her finger in his face. "Not until we handle my problem."

Garrus sighed,he didn't like giving up control to the young thief but he didn't see that he had any other choice.

"Oh don't take it too hard" Kasumi said in a mocking tone. "Tell you what to show I am not a total control freak I will let you choose where we go next."

"In that case" Garrus said in a gruff tone turning his chair away from her. "I say we should drop in on whoever hired you to steal that statue."

"That was just what I was going to say we should do" Kasumi said in a happy tone. "See we are more alike then you think" with that she skipped out of the cockpit. Garrus sighed again,this was going to be a long mission.

**Well there you have chapter four,I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave reviews and if I my spell check missed anything please point it out. Again thanks for reading and reviewing. Oh and bonus points to anyone who can find the quote from the Simpsons I put in chapter one and the quote from King Kong i put in this chapter. There is also a line from Babylon 5 in my first story "something to live for":)  
**

**Next chapter coming soon!:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Shepard pulled the curtains on his and Tali's bedroom window open and opened the window to let in some fresh morning air. He was trying to relax,but it was hard given what he had on his plate today. He could see the grass of the grounds around his house and hear the sounds of people starting to go about their day on the common. Bird were chirping. It was hard to believe that anything could be wrong in the galaxy when it was so peaceful here. Shepard smiled to himself a little. He didn't know if someone had brought the birds on purpose or if they had stowed away on a transport all he knew was that there was something oddly comforting about having plain old Earth bids like pigeons and robins on a space station. On days like today it was almost possible to forget he was on a space station,it felt more like Earth or some other planet Humans had settled on.

"Something got you on edge?" He felt Tali's hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing" He said with a sigh. "Just have to try and make a deal with Aria today."

"I will never understand how she got on the counsel,it was bad enough when we had to deal with her back on Omega." Tali said with a huff.

"Yeah" Shepard said now turning to face her and sounding a little frustrated "I swear just when I think she has run out of ways to make my job harder she finds a new one."

"Well you only have another eight more years to serve at the most." Shepard could tell she was smiling a little behind her mask.

"Yeah if I don't shoot myself first. He said rather grimly.

"Well you could always retire in two years"

"And sit back and do nothing?" He said. "No,we both know that is not my style."

"Who said anything about doing nothing?" Tali flirtatiously replied touching Shepard's cheek with her hand. "I think I could come up with plenty for you to do."

"Now,now." Shepard said with a grin taking her hand in his. "There will be plenty of time for that once I have finished putting the galaxy to rights." "Speaking of,we had better both start getting ready for work."

"Fine have it your way " Tali said sitting down on the bed with a mock pouting tone. "But my way is a lot more fun."

Shepard made his way into the bathroom and Tali called after him. "Remember Jacob and Brynn are coming for dinner tonight."

"Well at least there is no way aria can mess that up." Shepard called back. Seeing an old friend just to have fun was what he was going to need after today.

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Miranda Lawson at her desk in the headquarters of the SSID. The SSID had only been around for three years but it was the agency that handled the most top secret operation the counsel put into action. Miranda was it's head and she reported directly to President Shepard. Shepard had asked her because he said he wanted someone he could trust and he knew from working with her to take down the collectors that she would be good at the job. She had taken the job only after Shepard had made a deal with President Hackett of Earth to get her a pardon for working with Cerberus. More then a few people had been upset by this and if it had been anyone other then the almost universally loved(by the common people of the galaxy at least)John Shepard pushing for it Miranda didn't think it would have happened. Not that Shepard cared about that sort of thing. The SPECTREs need an a top secret division and Miranda was the right person to run it,that was all that mattered to him. This had been a good deal for Miranda in another way because not only did it give her a job and a pardon(She cringed at the thought of running her hated father's company)but she was able to move her sister and her family to the Citadel and now she could see her every day. Miranda looked at the picture she had on her desk of her and Shepard and the rest of the SR2 crew from back just after they had taken down the collectors and smiled,something she did these days. Shepard had done so much for her,she owed him and there was no way that she was going to let anything happen to him or his family. Finding out what was going on with the Batarians and Yagh was the number one thing on her mind and she would not fail in this task. She returned to her paper work,reading report after report on everything going on in the crazy mixed up mess that was the modern galaxy. Just then the intercom on her desk started to beep,she touched the holographic controls and an instant later a holographic image of a young human with glasses on appeared on the monitor.

"What is it Branson?

"Sir,you said you wanted to be alerted to any odd transmissions of Batarian origin."

"So we have one"

"Yes a Batarian cargo transport in the Krogan DMZ is sending a coded transmission to the Citadel"

"Have you decoded it?" Miranda asked urgently.

"Not yet,but we are tracing it,we should know who it is being sent to in a few minutes."

"Good at least that is something"

"Damn it!"

"Report!"

"Somehow it sent a virus that just crashed the server we were using to track and decode it!"

"How could it do that?!" Miranda demanded,she was angry now.

"I don't know but it did"

"Find out what happened and fix it"

"Yes Sir"

"Also find out what ship it came from and ask the Krogan to find some excuse to detain it!" "I want an operative on that ship by the end of the day,is that clear?!" She then banged her fist down on the desk and shut off the intercom. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a frustrated breath. Whoever these people were they knew what they were doing and they had someone on the Citadel. She did not like this one bit. She returned to her normal calm self deciding that the only way she could help was by looking over all the data and reports yet again. One thing was for sure,now she and everyone else who cared about Shepard were working against the clock.

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Tali entered the work space for Project Alpha cheerfully humming to herself. Things were going pretty well. Her sun had made a friend at school,she had received a message saying that her "Aunt" Raan would be visiting next week,and she had dinner with two of John and her closest friends to look forward to tonight. All and all not a bad way to start the day.

"Tali you just missed it" Taylor excitedly called out to Tali while motioning for Tali to come to her work station.

"What is up?"

"There was a power spike of three percent from the object that just ended a minute"

"What?!" Tali said her voice a mixture of shock and excitement. "What caused it?"

"I don't know"

"Show me the data"

Brynn brought up the date and she and Tali stared intently at it. Try as my might they just couldn't find a reason for it. They called other members of the team over and they spent the next few hours going over every detail of the data but could not find any reason why the amount of power put out by the object would increase of why it went back down to normal after ninety seconds. That was when Tali noticed something.

"Look at this" said calling over to another station. "Notice anything odd about the amount of power these buffers have taken in?"

The buffers were used to take in the power the object output every day,and make the chamber safe to work in.

"No" Brynn said,looking puzzled. "They have taking in the same amount of power they always do."

"Exactly" said Tali. "They should have taken in three percent more."

"But if they didn't,where did all that power go?"

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Shepard sat in the waiting room of the Asari Counselor's office. He knew Aria was making him wait on purpose. He hated that he had to play games with her. It was bad enough when he was a SPECTRE but this was just wrong. Everyone knew she was just ask crooked and deep in other people's blood as ever but as a Counselor she was almost untouchable. Shepard thought about how much easier his life would be right now if someone,anyone had just shot her at some point back on Omega. "Oh well" He thought to himself. "No one forced you to take this job" Finally after what seemed like hours he was called into her office. Her office had a large desk in it(Much larger then she really needed)with chairs on one side for people who were meeting with her to sit in, Her chair was on the other side of the desk and it sat slightly elevated above all the other chairs in the room. It wasn't more then a few inches higher but it was enough so that anyone talking to her would have to look up.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" She asked giving a friendly smile.

"I want to talk to you about your vote on the Krogan getting new colonies"

"What about it?" Shepard hated playing these games but he kept his cool.

"Why did you vote against the move?"

"I don't think it is wise to allowed the Krogan to expand right now."

"The Krogan do need to expand,the last thing we want is to repeat the mistakes that lead to the Krogans waging war on the rest of the galaxy."

"What is the matter Shepard,can't you keep your pets under control?"

"The Krogan are a Counsel race now and they have helped the galaxy in many way,we would not be alive right now if they had not helped in the reaper war." Shepard stated pointedly.

"We can not let the past dictate the future." Aria returned. "As I said I just don't think it would be wise to let them expand right now."

"And that is all there is to it?" Shepard ask with a bit of an edge now slipping into his voice. "There is nothing personal in it for you or another reason you voted the way you did?"

"What other reason could I have?"

"I don't know,maybe you want something else and you want to use your vote as a bargaining chip to get something else"

"I hadn't thought of that."

"Okay stop playing dumb." Shepard said turning a stern gaze to her. 'You know I hate playing games just come out and tell me what you want."

"Well you know the Asari are one of the oldest Counsel races and we have never acted against the best interest of the counsel."

"So?" Shepard asked nodding his head.

"I think we should be treated with more respect because of that."

"And what form would this "Respect" take?" Shepard asked not liking where this was headed.

"We don't need other people spying on us or enforcing the law,we have always done that one our own."

"Get to the point" Shepard said now he was getting angry but he didn't let his face show it.

"I think if we can a promise from you in writing that the SPECTREs would no longer operate inside Asari borders then I could change my vote the next time the Krogan issue comes up."

"You really I would do that?"

"I am just telling you my price."

"If I did anything like that it would completely undermine my position and that of the Counsel"

"Who said it had to be made public?,This would just be between you and me."

"I'll have to think about it" Shepard said getting up to leave.

"Think fast." Aria said with a smile. "I am not sure how long your pets will wait."

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At least one member of the Shepard family was having a good day. At school Krowdon had introduced Jeff to the few friends he had. They were all loners who the other kids didn't like just like Jeff and Krowdon,but there were enough of them to play a game of tag in the schoolyard. One of the other kids was a Krogan and no one was going to pick on a group of kids that had both a Vorcha and Krogan in it. Jeff was having fun and not worrying about the other kids for once. That is until he saw something.

He saw a group of four boys tossing something in the air and he thought he heard his sister's voice crying. As he walked closer he saw that the boy at formed a ring with Raan sitting crying in the middle,and they were tossing Pablo. Jeff was not sure what he should do but then I remember what his mother said about Quarinans sticking together and he screwed up his courage and walked up to the group.

"Hey!" He said in as loud a voice as he could muster. "Stop picking on my sister!"

"Beat it Suitrat!" the largest boy said and he then proceeded to tear Pablo's right arm off. Raan was now on the ground face first crying harder then Jeff had ever heard her before. That was it he punched the boy right in the nose. The young human was shocked and fell to the ground,Jeff then kicked him until the boy let go of Pablo. Jeff then pick up the two pieces and tossed them to his sister.

"Run Raan!" He yelled and she did just as all four boys jumped onto of Jeff and started beating him up. Even with his suit it hurt and he knew he would have bruises. He wasn't sure how much more he could take. He didn't want these bullies to hear him cry but it hurt so much. Just then two teachers came running up and broke up the fight. They gave all the children a talking to before suspending them for two weeks. Jeff was still in pain and not looking forward to explaining this to his mom and dad but still he felt proud of himself. He had protected his sister and he had not cried once.

As he was being led away Raan came up to him. 'Sorry I got you in trouble." She said sniffing.

"That's okay" Jeff said looking down at her. "We are family,we have to stick together." He then saw that she was worried and added. "I am sure we can sew Pablo's arm back on." as the Teacher lead him into the school.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Shepard sat in his office doing paper work related to the bills that had been pasted in the Counsel meeting that day when unannounced Grunt burst in unannounced with poor Kelly Chambers right behind him trying to get him to wait in the other room until called for.

"It's okay Kelly." Shepard said waving her off. "Grunt if this is about the vote yesterday I talked to Aria this morning and she does want something but it may take a little while to reach a deal."

"It's not about that." Grunt said and Shepard could tell he was worried about something. "It's not that,I just got done talking to Wrex on the com and he gave me a message to pass to your right away."

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"He says he needed to meet with you and only you as soon as possible face to face."

"Is he coming here?"

"No,he can't leave the home world right now."

"Grunt" Shepard said with a sigh. "I am not sure I can get away now."

"He said what he has to say will effect the whole future of the galaxy."

Shepard sighed again he knew Wrex wouldn't says something like that unless it was true. "Tell him I will get there as soon as I can,any idea what he wants to talk about?"

"No,he wouldn't even tell me anything." With that grunt left and Shepard sat back in his chair. Shepard didn't return to his paper work instead he turned his chair around and looked out the big window behind him,he needed to think about everything that had happened in the past couple of days.

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Shepard had just finished having a talk with his son when he came down stairs. He had had to ground him for a week but secretly he was proud of his son for standing up for his sister. At least his suit hadn't gotten torn and Tali had stitched the arm back on so no long term damage had been done. Today had not been a good day at all. Just then the doorbell rang,before he could get to it two guards had let Jacob ,Bryyn,and their two children John and Susan into the the house.

"Hey Shepard,how has the world been treating you" Jacob said with a broad smile.

"Do you want to trade jobs?" Shepard ask taking Jacobs hand in his.

"Hey this whole mess was your idea,you have to clean it up" Jacob said with a laugh.

Dinner past pleasantly and afterwords Jacob and Shepard went to play some VR sports games,while Kryyn and Tali chatted for the next few hours and the kids played. For a while Shepard completely forgot about all his problems and was enjoying himself. The night ended too soon for his taste.

"Well that was fun" Tali said as they walked up to their bedroom.

"Yes it was" Shepard said,he then had to return to the real world and tell Tali that he would have to leave in the next couple of days and he didn't know how long he would be gone. Tonight may have been fun but a storm was rising.

**Well that is chapter 5. Sorry it took me so long to update but I had a case of writer's block. I know how this story is going to end it's just getting there that some times blocks me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review. Again thanks for reading and the next chapter is coming soon now that I am over my writer's block.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kasumi was board. She had tried to hack more of the disc but kept running into the same walls over and over again. She had shown the data to Garrus and for once he had talked to her but now of the names or dates or even the formula made any sense to him. He tried copying and sending what he had to SPECTRE HQ on the Citadel but all he had gotten for his trouble was a crashed computer and com system that he had to spend two hours fixing. It had only been eighteen hours and they had another four days to go before they got to Dekuuna. Kasumi sat back in her chair and sighed,she couldn't remember the last time she was this board. Garrus kept a spartan ship with really nothing in it but the supplies he needed,his weapons,and targets to practice with. He didn't even keep any books or vids besides SPECTRE reports that he would not let her see. All he seemed to do was eat,sleep,and calibrate the guns and other systems on the ship. He never really smiled or even talked to her. She had to do something to pass the time so she decided that she was going to find some way to make Garrus smile or laugh. She looked over at the Turrian who was grimly sitting in the pilots seat in the cockpit despite the fact that the auto pilot was flying the ship,she had her work cut out for her that was for sure.

She walked into the cockpit and sat down in the copilot's seat next to Garrus with a smile on her face. Garrus pretended not to notice her and kept staring straight ahead. Kasumi was not going to be put off by this act.

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with W" She said lightly.

"What?" Garrus said sounding a little annoyed.

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with W" Kasumi said again with a little more force in her voice.

"What are you doing?" Garrus asked knowing he would regret the answer.

"It's a human game." Kasumi explain looking at him cheerfully. "One of us sees something and the other one has to guess what it is"

"That's a pretty stupid game" Garrus said coldly.

"Maybe it is but I can't think of a better way to pass the time."

"I was passing it just fine"

'So,what you think we are just going to sit quietly for the next four days?" Kasumi asked in disbelief.

"It works for me" Garrus explained. "Look I don't normally talk to crooks like you unless they have info I need and since you are not going to give me that until we solve your problem I have nothing to say to you."

"Well that's pretty cold,considering we went on a suicide mission together" Kasumi said letting a little mock hurt slip into her voice.

"We never talked unless we were on a mission together and even then it was all about the mission" Garrus pointed out.

"So now is a chance for us to get to know each other." Kasumi said looking back at him and smiling broadly.

"I don't normally let people on the other side of the law get to know me."

"Okay then" Kasumi said. "Is playing a game to pass the time really getting to know you?"

Garrus sighed,he could tell she wouldn't go away unless he let her have her way for at least a little while. "Okay we will play your game but I will start."

"Great!" Kasumi said rubbing her hands together. 'Don't worry this will be fun."

"I spy with my little eye something beginning with S"

"That easy,stars."

"You got that right,you win" said Garrus.

"Not so fast. Since I guessed it that means I get to give you one now. I spy with my little eye something beginning with W"

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Counsel SPECTRE Urdnot Zerel was using of of her piloting skill to keep up with the Batarian cargo ship she was chasing. she had been ordered to detain it and have a look on board by General Williams who was in charge of the SPECTRE's military wing. she had been told that it had sent some sort of virus to the Citadel and to find out who had sent it and why. It should have been an easy job but whoever was piloting the ship was good and staying just out of range of her one man Krogan fighter. Not that it really mattered. There were three Krogan battle ships around the Mass Relay so this ship was not getting away. Zerel just hated the idea that a bunch of Batarians would get away from her so she was going to catch them herself. She had been chasing them all over the Krogan DMZ for about two hours and she knew she would be out of fuel soon,still the small cargo ship couldn't be much better off. All she had to do was get into firing range. The chase continued for a few more minutes with both ships banking every which way. Finally the cargo ship hit a small chunk of rock that was floating in space,it didn't do any damage but it did slow the ship down for a few seconds. That was all Zerel needed. He got in range,locked on,and fired an EMS missile. The Missile hit it's target and took out the engines,Zerel matched the ship's speed and she pulled along side it. She put on her helmet and checked her guns to make sure they were loaded and ready. As she got ready to dock her computer detected a transmission from the ship,she tried to jam it but it was over too quickly. She shrugged,she would find out want that was about once she was on board. Suddenly her computer beeped a warning,there was a spike of energy on the cargo ship. The last thing she saw was the bright flash that destroyed both the cargo ship and her fighter.

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On the Citadel in her office at the SSID Miranda got a message just as she sat down at her desk to begin her morning's work.

"What is it Branson?" She said.

"We are getting another transmission from the same ship we did yesterday."

"Track this one and don't let what happened yesterday happen again." She said forcefully. The SSID was not going to be made fools of for a second time.

'Yes Ma'am" Branson responded.

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In the Alpha Project chamber Brynn called Tali over to her work station.

"There seems to be another energy spike" She said excitedly.

Tali came over and looked at the data. "It doesn't look like the one from more then a week ago or the one from yesterday."

"It's raising much faster and I am not sure the buffers can hold it" Brynn said worry showing on her face.

"Everyone out now!" Tali shouted. She motioned everyone out of the chamber and then turned around to make sure she had not left anyone behind. She then jumped through the door and slammed it shut just as energy filled the chamber.

A few seconds latter Brynn helped her up. "Good work Brynn" She said dusting herself off and turning to her team. "Okay I want a head count,I want to make sure everyone made it out."

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Branson entered Miranda's office looking like a beaten man.

"Give me the bad news" Miranda said not looking forward to what was to come.

"It happened again." He said. "This time was know what happened and it's not a virus."

"Then what was it."

"I was going to tell you when you first came in but when we looking at the server yesterday we found that it's was fried."

"How did that happen and why didn't you tell me sooner."

"We spent all night looking for a reason and we only just found it a few minutes before you came in. There was some sort of energy spike that got past all of our safety systems and just fried the server. The same thing just happened again."

"Where did this come from?" She asked clearly angry.

"We don't know but we are getting set up to scan the whole Citadel. It will take time to get all the scanners set"

"Fine,how long?"

"At least three hours,and then it will take at least four days to scan the whole station."

"There has to be a faster way." Miranda said while giving him a stern look.

"I'm sorry but there isn't,not if you want to find everything generating power and any systems that may have been messed with on a station this big. We have to scan every single thing and that is going to take time."

"Find some way to speed it up." Miranda demanded. "We are being made fools of and it end NOW,Do I make myself Clear?!"

"Yes Ma'am."

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Tali finished her head count and said a silent prayer of thanks to the ancestors that her whole team had made it out unharmed.

"Okay people" She said taking charge. "Everyone is okay so we will wait for the energy levels to die down to normal and then we have to find out what happened. I want an alarm system set up that will alert us to any energy spikes from now on and the moment one starts everyone is to leave the chamber. Safety comes first"

"Just a second." Tali heard the voice of say and she saw the Salarian raising his hand from the back of the crowd. "I didn't see I didn't see Dr.T'soni leave."

"Are you sure she was in there?" Tali asked with panic slipping into her voice.

"She was there when I came in" He answered.

Tali brought up the security footage on her Omni-Tool,she went back to early that days when Liara came in and fast forwarded looking for footage of the Asari leaving. As she got closer and closer to the present a mixture of panic and sadness began to take over her. "Come one Liara" She said under her breath. "You survived the Reapers,you can't go out like this!". When she got to the present and didn't see Liara leave she let out a sob and leaned against the wall. Brynn came over and tried to comfort her but it didn't seem to help.

"How could I have screwed up so bad." She asked her friend between sobs. "If I had done my job right she would be alive."

Brynn hugged Tali and then looked her in the eyes and said. "This was not your fault none of us could see it coming and you did everything you could."

"I should have gotten her out." Tali said trying to regain control.

A few minutes latter it was safe to enter the chamber and Tali searched every inch but there was no sign of the young Asari. A somber mood took over the inter team. No one wanted to say it out loud but someone who was a good friend and full of life was dead. Brynn took it upon herself to say what no one else could.

"She must have been vaporized in the blast."

Hearing it put into words was too much for Tali and she dropped to her knees and started crying. It was strange she had never felt overly close to Liara but now she was cry as hard as she had when her father had died.

**Well that is chapter six. Sorry it took so long but I wrote another chapter six that was not working so I deleted it and then got hit with a case of writers block. Plus the season premier of Castle got me so pumped up that I ended up watching about of old episodes on dvd in my free time. Sorry about that. Hope you liked this chapter and I am working on chapter seven right now so you should not have long to wait for that. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Shepard returned home that evening depressed. He didn't say a word to anyone and just went straight to the small study he had just off of the living room and sat down behind his desk. He didn't bother turning a light on. Tali had contacted him earlier that day and told him about Liara's death. He could remember much after being told,the rest of the day was a haze. He looked at the picture on his desk and a tear slid down his cheek. The picture was of the Normandy crew just before they hit the collector's base. What was it about him anyway,how many people did he have to lose? First he lost his whole family to slaver and then one by one his handpicked crew kept dieing. First there was his best friend in the military Kaiden on Virmire. His death was the hardest to take because Shepard had left him to die. Everyone told Shepard that he had done the right thing,after all Kaiden was by himself with a bomb and if he had saved him it would have meant leaving Ashley Williams and about a dozen Salarians to die. None of that helped,Shepard still felt like he had murdered his best friend. After that he had watched his ship go down with about 20 members of his crew that he could not save. Then there had been Jack and Zaeed taking out the Collector's base. He had not been overly close to Zaeed but he was still a member of his crew and he didn't like losing members of his crew. Jack had been someone he didn't really like or trust at first but over the course of the mission he had gotten to know her and had scene that underneath all the bluster she was still a scared kid try to survive. She had just started to come out of her shell and trust people and Shepard thought that maybe she could have a life after the mission. He felt like he had really done some good in someone's life for once,but then that life was cut short. Mordin was any another person Shepard had not seen eye to eye with but he had died making his and the galaxy's mistake right saving the Krogan race. Then there had been Vega and Anderson on Earth in the last battle of the Reaper war. Anderson's death was a very hard one to take. Anderson had trained Shepard and unlike everyone else above him in the chain of command had always had his back. Shepard hand learned how to command from Anderson and when he got to earth and found him still alive after months under Reaper attack he felt like nothing could stop them. After the war Shepard had to make peace with all the death and one of the ways he had done so was by telling himself that it was over now. Then today happened and he lost one of the people who had been with him the longest. Liara had been so young and full of life and now she was gone at the age of 114. Shepard cocked a sad half smile at the thought,only 114 years old. It was research,Fucking research she should not be dead! Shepard wanted to drown himself in a bottle and not come up for a few days. He remembered his family and his duty and knew he couldn't do that so he did the next best thing,he through the picture against the wall and it broke into pieces. Just then Tali entered the room.

"Dinner is ready." She said in a sad lifeless voice.

"I am not hungry." Shepard replied with looking straight ahead instead of at her.

"I am not really hungry either but the children are worried."

"Yeah I suppose I had better come out." Shepard said his voice was now completely lifeless and with out feeling.

"How are you holding up?" Tali asked walking over to him.

"As well as can be expected I guess. How are you? After all you were there."

"It was awful." Tali said taking a seat on his lap and putting her masked face on his shoulder before breaking down into tears. "I should have gotten her out,all I can think about are all the times she saved one of us and when she needed me I wasn't there"

"It wasn't your fault" Shepard said hugging her.

"Yes it was. I was so busy getting myself out that I didn't think to look for her."

"Listen to me." Shepard said putting his hand under her chin and lifting her head so he could look her in the eyes. "It happened very fast and you had the rest of your team to look after. It was not your fault. You know Liara would not want you blaming yourself."

"Yes I know." Tali said regaining control. "We had better get back out there before the kids think there is something wrong."

"Yes,I guess you ware right." Shepard said standing up.

"Oh and by the way I got a message from Miranda Lawson this afternoon. She wanted to know if it was okay for her Jacob and Ashley to come over latter tonight so we can talk about what has happened."

"Send her a message telling her it's okay." Shepard said and he led Tali out of the dark and into the light of the living room where their children were waiting.

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Garrus still wasn't the friendliest person Kasumi had ever met but over the past few hours she had at least got him talking a little,even if it was only about weapons systems. Now she had gotten him to leave the cockpit so they could both get something to eat. All he had were Turrian military ration which Kasumi could not eat. This had worried her for a while and Garrus had gone to a cabin in the back of the ship,he returned a few minutes latter holding some containers.

"I knew I had some human rations around here somewhere." He said in a lighter tone then Kasumi had ever heard him address her in before.

"Let me guess." Kasumi said walking over and taking some of the containers out of his hand. "You never know when you will have Human prisoners."

"Yeah" Garrus said taking a seat on the over side of the workbench that also served as a table. "I have not had any Human prisoners for a while so for a while I was worried."

Kasumi opened on of the rations,it was bad mac and cheese with a bad steak. Touching a button on the bottom heated the food in a few seconds. She looked up at Garrus and gave him a teasing look. "Why Garrus if I didn't know better I would almost think you care what happens to me."

"Not flatter yourself" Garrus said a little gruffly. "I just can't have you starving to death before I get the information I need."

Kasumi took a bite of steak and then said. "You may think you have people fooled but I know you are just a big softie."

"What would you think that?" Garrus asked not quit believing someone had called him that.

"Tali told me about what you did on Omega."

"Wait you and Tali are friends?" Garrus didn't believe this. He always thought she had better judgment then that.

"Oh yes" Kasumi said lightly taking another bite of food. "We talked all the time on the Normandy,and I still talk to when I get a chance."

"Well there is something I didn't see coming." Garrus said and Kasumi noticed that his tone was almost friendly.

"Yeah well when she ran out of things to fix in the engine room she would come up and we would talk." Kasumi explained. "I had a case of Turrian Brandy that I picked up somewhere."

Garrus interrupted her. "You mean you stole it from some imprtant person just before we picked you up on the Citadel."

"Well if I did I would be stupid to admit it to a hard nosed SPECTRE like you."

"And you didn't invite me for a taste." Garrus said in a mock sad tone,boy he really was loosening up.

"Well it's not like you would have come any way."

"True" Garrus admitted.

"Any way she would come up and we would drink and talk. I wanted to know about Shepard and she wanted to know about Humans."

"I bet she wanted to know about how you guys mate." Garrus said with a sly grin. Yes! It had taken her all day but she had finally gotten something close to a smile out of Garrus.

"That was one of the things she wanted to know about. She told me that about her past with Shepard and at first all she said was that she was surprised he and Liara had not gotten together since anyone can tell she was in love with him."

"Oh I remember" Garrus said thinking back to when he had first met Shepard on the SR1. "It seemed like everyone knew Liara was in love with him but him."

"That is what Tali said." Kasumi continued. "She could not understand why Shepard didn't pick up on it. I told her it was most likely that he was interested in some one else."

"So you got them together/" Garrus asked shocked. He had been what the humans called the "best man" at their wedding and he had never heard this side of the story before.

"Not really." Kasumi said "I just gave her a little push. For months she would not admit it,I had a to tell her that I could tell he had feelings for her from the way they always talked before she would even admit it to me."

"Well given that there was no sign of Quarians ever being able to leave their suits at the time I can see why she would find it hard to believe."

"Yeah,I finally had to tell her that if he had never seen her face then it clearly didn't matter to him."

"Did that do the trick" Garrus couldn't believe he was listening to this gossip but he was learning things about his two best friends he had never heard before.

"No,she still though Shepard would be better off with someone who's face he could see and he could mate with."

"It's a wonder those two ever got together." Garrus said. "I was telling Shepard he should make a move but he always said they were just friends like he and I were. I then told him that he had better not ever look at me the way he did Tali."

Kasumi and Garrus both laughed at this. "What was wrong with him" Garrus thought. He never let his guard down and yet here he was laughing and swapping stories with a thief he hardly knew. Still he had to admit it felt good to not think about work and all the horrible things that went on in the galaxy for a while.

"Did that do the trick" Kasumi asked turning the tables on Garrus for once. "Yeah,he admitted to me that he had been in love with her since he first met her on the Citadel. It seems you Humans believe you can love someone after just seeing them once,that always sounded strange to me."

"Then why didn't he say something instead of leaving poor Tali to wonder how he felt?"

"He told me that if she wanted to risk it that it had to be her choice alone."

"I see." Kasumi said nodding that she understood.

"So how did you get her to make the first move?"

"She noticed him getting depressed after losing Zaeed getting the Reaper IFF and wanted to come up with a way to stop being depressed. I told her that it would be a lot easier for him to handle all the stress if the woman he loved was with him. She was still scarred but then she decided that if it was a suicide mission she and Shepard should at least take the chance."

"Well it worked I will give you that." Garrus said.

By now they had finished eating and it was getting late. Kasumi yawned.

"There are beds back in the old crew quarters" Garrus explained. "Sorry I have them all set up like cells"

"You just want to lock me up and tricking me is the only way you can catch me." Kasumi said with a smile.

"Hey I may be a hard nosed SPECTRE,but I keep my word. I told you I would not lock you up and I will not. I will even put your DNA in the system so that the doors will unlock for you if you want"

"That's okay" Kasumi replied still giving him a sly grin. "I think I can trust you. You have an honest face."

"One of these days some Human is going to have to tell me what a dishonest face looks like."

"I guess it looks like mine" Kasumi said.

"Well have a good night" Garrus said. "I will be sleeping on a mat out here."

"Okay see ya" Kasumi said starting to walk out of the room and then turned around and faced Garrus again. "Garrus I don't get much of a chance to unwind or talk to people and I know you don't really approve of me but thanks for giving me a chance to talk and unwind."

Garrus replied with out thinking. "Any time" He had no idea why he had said that.

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Miranda had not known Liara well enough to really be effected by her death,Jacob had gone with Shepard and the Asari when they had taken on the Shadow Broker. Still she was going with Jacob and Ashley because she wanted to show a united front and she knew that tonight was her best chance to talk some sense into Shepard and get him to agree to more security to help keep him and his family safe.

When the three of them showed up they could tell Shepard and Tali's spirits were low,Shepard got out some drinks and they spent a couple of hours talking about Liara. It was a sort of informal Irish wake for their friend. Miranda didn't say much because she didn't have anything to say,part of her wished she had known this woman who seemed to mean so much to everyone she met better. Finally things calmed down and Miranda,Jacob,and Ashley got to business.

Miranda started. "Shepard there is more to Liara's death then you know,I believe you and your family are in danger."

Shepard just looked at her stunned not saying a word. Miranda went on to tell him about everything that had happened and the fact that it looked like the Batarians had found some way to remotely control Object Alpha. She then told him that it looked like unknown people on the Citadel were working with the Batarians.

"Shepard I know you are not going to like this but we need to massively increase your and your family's security." Shepard continued to look at her stunned,the whole day had done a number on him. At least he wasn't bringing up the old excuses about how he could handle anything and he wanted his family to have a normal life. Miranda then went into outlining the plan the three of them had come up with that afternoon. The plan involved many more guards,no one in Shepard's family going anywhere with out at least three bodyguards,using armored cars from now on,and a special extranet hook up so his kids could do their school work from home. Shepard looked like he was about to object when Jacob piped in.

"Shepard I know you can handle threats against yourself." He said looking Shepard in the eye. "But imagine how you would feel if something happened to Tali or one of your kids,please don't take the chance."

Tali then added a simple. "Please listen to them."

"Alright" Shepard said a little lifelessly. "I don't like living in fear but I guess it's for the best." Even though this was what they wanted everyone in the room felt a little sad seeing him give in,it was clear Liara's death had taken all the fight out of him. He wasn't the same Shepard they knew,tonight he was a beaten man.

"Oh and one more thing." Miranda added "I don't think it's a good idea for you to go to Tuchanka tomorrow."

Shepard stood up and said "I have to go,I told Wrex I would come."

"Skipper I really don't think it's a good idea." Ashley said "For all we know the Krogan could be involved."

"Doesn't matter." Shepard said forcefully showing them the old commander who had taken on the Reapers. "I have to go,Wrex said the galaxy was at stake. He will only talk to me in person. I will do everything you ask me to but I have to go to Tuchanka." They could all see it was no use fighting him on this.

"Well if that is the case then I am going with you." Ashley said standing up. "I'll bring a dozen of my best SPECTREs with me and you do everything I say,got it."

"Alright" Shepard said. He respected Ashley too much to fight her on this and besides he wasn't sure he could win a battle of wills with her.

"I will be staying her while you are gone to make sure your family is safe." Jacob said.

"Jacob." Shepard said. "I don't know how long I will be gone,so if you want to do that bring Brynn and the kids so they don't have to spend time away from you."

"If you are sure that is okay."

"I am sure."

He saw Tali was worried about what they were going to tell the kids. "We will just tell them it's a sleep over." He said with a smile.

He then turned back to his friends. "Now if you will excuse us it is late and I have had too much to drink so we are going to to bed. He and Tali left the room and their three friends left to put the new security measures in place. One thing was for sure until this danger was taken care of everyone's lives would be a lot more interesting.

**Well there you have it chapter seven. Sorry the plot didn't move forward much but I got caught up writing character moments. The plot will be moving forward next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always thanks for reading and please leave a review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The mood was somber as Shepard boarded the Normandy and stepped from the airlock into the CIC. Shepard had gotten over the shock of losing Liara and was now just deeply sad about it. His mood was subdued but he was not the wreck he had been the day before. He had a job to do and the fate of the galaxy may have hung on that job. Having something important to do helped his focus on something other then his grief.

He and Ashley walked into the cockpit where Joker and EDI were sitting at their stations.

"It's hard to believe Liara is gone." Joker stated sadly not looking up from his controls.

"Yeah" Was all Shepard could say. He didn't want to talk about it right now, the call to Liara's father he made this morning had been really hard. The gruff old Asari bartended had broken down and cried when he told her. What made it worse was he couldn't tell her the truth about how Liara died because it was top secret. Saying that there had been a power surge of some kind in her quarters to explain the lack of a body had not been his proudest moment. He was really glad he had this trip and paper work to focus on for a while.

Ashley Willaims turned to face Shepard. "Everyone and everything is on board,we can leave any time Skipper."

Joker turned in his chair and looked at her. "Hey, How come you still call him Skipper when I am the Captain,why is he Skipper and I am still just Joker?" He asked trying to lighten the mood.

"If you don't like Joker any more I could always call you Little Buddy." Ashley returned.

'"Joker it is!" Joker said turning back to the controls. "Alright everyone we are leaving, we should be at Tuchanka in 24 hours. Go find something to do besides teasing the person who is fly the ship."

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The day had started far from normal for Tali. She had cried herself out the night before and the fact that her kids needed her helped her act normal. Still she was somber and she didn't quite have the energy she normally had. She had seen Shepard make the call to Liara's father and was glad to see he didn't break down like he would have done last night. They had then had to explain to the kids that they would be going to school at home for the time being and that Jacob and his family would be staying with them for a while. They tried to do it with out worrying them and the kids were excited to have John and Susan staying but Tali could tell they knew something was off. Rael seemed to be the most worried about the change but he didn't say anything.

After breakfast Shepard had said goodbye to them all and Tali had shed a single tear. She didn't like being separated from her husband at the best of times,and she didn't like it now. "Make sure you come back to me." She whispered in his ear while hugging him.

Like Shepard she was glad she had something to do. Jacob and Brynn had arrived a few minutes after Shepard left. For the next few hours she helped them get settled into the guest rooms and set up all the new security. It had then been time for launch. Jacob ate quietly doing some paperwork,he was still in charge of C-SEC and sometimes it seemed like the paper work never ended. Brynn had gotten Tali to chat with her and open up about what she was feeling,it had been a nice little talk and Tali had only shed a few tears.

After they cleaned up from launch she had an announcement to make. She looked at Jacob. "Staring tomorrow I am going back to work."

'I don't think that is a good idea." Jacob said looking up.

"Look whatever this danger is it will not go away until we figure out what Object Alpha is supposed to do and how the Batarrians are controlling."

"We know that" Brynn piped in trying to help her husband make his case. "But think of the danger. We were lucky yesterday."

"I know." Said Tali not meeting her friend's gaze. "My family is in danger until this is figured out and I will not sit on the sidelines waiting for the worst to happen."

"Well if you are going,so am I." Brynn said leaving no room for argument.

"Alright." Jacob said resigning himself to the turn of events. "I will set up and escort and I will stay here and keep an eye on the kids."

Tali was grateful he had given in,she really didn't have the energy for a fight.

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Paperwork was a poor substitute for real action but at least it was something to do. Shepard sometimes wished someone would find a way to run the galaxy with out it. Still he had signed up for this job so he couldn't really complain and he owed it to Liara and all the others who had died to make sure the galaxy was a better place after so much pain. He turned in his chair when he heard Ashley enter his quarters.

"I just got a message from Wrex." She said. "He says that this trip has to look normal so before he has his private talk with you he needs you to make a public tour of the new capital city of Tuchanka."

"Okay tell him I will go along with it."

"I don't like it Skipper." Ashley said now looking worried. "For all we know this could be part of a trap to get you out in the open."

"I don't think Wrex would try and trap me."

"With all die respect sir" Ashley said taking a few steps closer. "You trust too easily."

"Ash" Shepard was shocked. "Wrex is a friend and that is why I trust him."

"Still I am not going to be taking any chances" Ashley returned.

"Do whatever you have to. Shepard said forcefully. "I will be meeting with Wrex."

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Nedon made his way into the small Drell temple that was on the Citadel. There were not many of his race here. Still there were enough to warrant having a temple and priests. There were no services today but he needed advice so he made his way to the back of the temple where the priests lived in small simple rooms. He wanted advice from Kolyat. Kolyat was young for a priest but he was wise beyond his years and he never failed to help someone in distress. Nedon was just about to knock on Kolyat's door when the room exploded knocking him to the floor. There were small fires everywhere and Nedon saw blood coming down his head from cuts on his forehead. He regained control of himself and in a panic ran out of the temple calling for help. The other priests braved the fire and dragged Kolyat into the street. In a matter of minutes help had arrived. A group of C-SEC officers started roping off the temple. They were let by a Salarian named Sola. Jacob could not be there but he handpicked Sola to take charge at the site. Over the years Jacob had learned to trust the man who was only interested in protecting people and up holding the law. Once the fire was out C-SEC got to work. Sola was just getting a handle on things when a car landed at the temple and four SPECTREs and a woman got out. Sola walked up to the woman.

"I wasn't expecting you." He said simply. "What are you doing here director Lawson."

"I believe this may be related to something the SSID is investigating." Miranda explained.

"Well it seems to be a bombing that targeted a Drell Priest named Kolyat."

"Any idea why?" Miranda asked.

"Not yet we have only just started checking what is left of his rooms and the rest of the temple. We have however confirmed that there are no more bombs in it."

"So" Miranda said thoughtfully. "Whoever did this wanted to take out him and only him."

"It looks that way."

Miranda then touched the comlink on her ear. "Branson I want you to find out everything you can about a Drell Priest named Kolyat."

Miranda then looked around and saw medics treating a Drell who was lying on the ground. "Is that him?" She asked.

"Yes" answered Sola. "He don't know how but he is still alive."

Miranda walked over to Kolyat. He was in bad shape and the medics tried to stop her but she bent down just inches from his face. Kolyat can you hear me?" She asked. He stirred a little.

"Ma'aam" One of the medics said. "We really need to get him to a hospital"

"Alright" Miranda said with a sigh. "But I want him in a secure wing and these SPECTREs will be going with you to guard him. She motioned to the four SPECTREs that had come with her. Suddenly Kolyat jerked awake and grabbed Miranda's arm with a blood soaked hand.

"Hanar!" He yelled and then he passed out and the medics took him away.

Miranda touched her comlink again. "Branson look for any connections between Kolyat and the Hanar and I want you to look into the backgrounds of every Hanar on the Citadel. Also I want all reports from Hanar space on by desk by the time I get back to HQ." It could be nothing but Miranda was not taking any chances,if the Hanar were involved this was a lot bigger then even she thought.

**Well there you have it chapter 8. Hope you enjoyed it. I would like to give a special thank you to Bud89. Your reviews and PMs have been a huge help,please keep them coming. To everyone else ****thanks for reading and please leave a review. The next chapter is coming soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Kasumi noticed that on their second day traveling together Garrus went back to being his old gruff and withdrawn self. He hardly spoke to her and spend most of his time in the cockpit. Kasumi guessed it was because Garrus didn't want her getting the wrong idea and thinking they were friends or something like that. Still it made for a boring ride and Kasumi didn't like to admit it but she kind of liked the new side of Garrus she had seen the night before. She had never been able to figure out how Shepard and Tali could be his friend until last night. She spent the day looking around and getting to know all of the ship's system. The bright side to Garrus not paying attention to her was that he didn't stop her from doing this.

Kasumi lay in her bed that night unable to sleep. She couldn't wait to get to Dekuuna so she would have something to do at last. That was when she heard it. It sounded like Garrus yelling. There must be an emergency. She leaped out of bed and ran to the front of the ship, what she saw when she got there shocked her. Garrus was still asleep but he was cover is sweat and calling out pitifully. Kasumi didn't like seeing the normally strong Turrian like this and decided she had to do something. As she came nearer the mat he was sleeping on she could hear what he was calling out clearly.

"NO! I have to save them! Get away!" Along with other things along those line were what he was shouting out. Kasumi bent down and and shook Garrus gently by the shoulders to wake him up.

"What!" Garrus half yelled as he jerked awake into a sitting position. Slowly Garrus became aware of his surroundings and he finally noticed Kasumi kneeling on the ground on his left right side. "What's wrong?" He asked her trying to sound normal but there were still hints of panic and fear in his voice and eyes.

"I was about to ask you that" Kasumi said with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "You were calling out in your sleep."

"Was I?" Garrus said trying to sound like this was news to him.

"Yes you were." Kasumi said trying to look him in the eyes but he refused to meet her gaze. "You were having a nightmare."

"Yeah right." Garrus said with a hollow laugh. "Is this another one of those stupid human games,if so I don't think it is any fun." Garrus tried to get up but Kasumi put her hand firmly on his right shoulder and he could not get up with out roughly pushing her away.

"Garrus stop." She said in an authoritative tone that didn't leave much room for argument. "We both know you were having a nightmare,and I think I know what type of nightmare it was."

"How would you know what types of nightmares I have!" Garrus challenged.

"Because" Kasumi answered keeping her tone gentle. "I have had the same nightmare. You were dreaming about the death of someone you loved. Someone you think you should have been able to save." Garrus didn't answer he just got a look on his face that was a mixture of shock and shame as he continued to not meet Kasumi's gaze. "You need to talk about it." She continued. "I know what you are going through so you don't have to feel ashamed when you tell me about it." Garrus just continued to sit silently trying to think of a way to get out of this situation.

"Fine" Kasumi finally said after a few minutes of silents. "If you don't trust me enough to tell me about yours I will tell you about mine, maybe then you will see that you are not alone in your pain." Garrus just sat there looking at the floor not responding. He hated being seen like this. Turrian warriors were supposed to be stronger then this. He shouldn't need help from a Human woman who was on the opposite side of the law.

Kasumi started to tell her story and her voice was full of such emotion that Garrus didn't feel like he could just get up and walk away. He was used to her being happy and devil may care,not subdued by a great well of sadness that seemed to come from some private place deep in her heart.

"I didn't always work alone." Kasumi began, her voice was shaky but she was going to tell this story no matter how much it hurt. "I used to have a partner, His name was Keiji. Over time we went from being partners to friends and then we went from being friends to lovers. At first I told myself I kept teaming up with him because we worked well together but as time went on I had to admit that I loved him. He was the first person I ever met who wasn't trying to use me." At this point tears began to well up in Kasumi's eyes. "He wasn't interested in what I could do for him, he just kept trying to help me. He showed me that I didn't have to let my past control me and that I could be happy. I was a very bitter and angry person before I met him. I learned from him that there is more to life then just surviving. I can not put into words how he made me feel. We even talked about leaving this life together." A tear now slid down her cheek.

"What happened?" Garrus asked,he was now feeling ashamed not just of himself for having nightmares but for treating this woman so badly who was willing to relive the worst thing that had happened in her life because she thought it would help him.

"We planed one last heist." Kasumi continued. "We knew the man we were stealing from was dangerous, but this heist should have left us set for life. After one last job we would be able to vanish off the grid and live real lives together. We spent a month planing it. We went over every detail and worked out the timing down to the second. When the day came everything went smoothly at first. We got the loot and had almost gotten out with out anyone knowing we were there. Keiji and I were just about to meet up and leave when I triggered an alarm I didn't know about. Suddenly I was surrounded by guards and blast doors were closing. I told him to forget about me and go." She wanted to cry but through sheer strength of will she held back the tears. " Instead he came back for me and got me through the last blast door that stood between us and freedom. Before he could get through the door closed between us and the last I heard from him were his screams as the guards gunned him down. For a long time after that I did not sleep. I kept dreaming about his screams,about what his face must have looked like when he was shot,and above all I kept dreaming about how I should have saved him."

Garrus gave her a look full of pity that she didn't notice. She then turned to Garrus and and half asked half demmanded."So I have told you about mine,what is yours?"

Garrus let out a sigh and then began. He voice was flat and betrayed no emotion,it was as if shutting down was the only way he could talk about his pain. "My father and sister were on Palavin when the Reapers attacked. I was off world fighting at the time and then I joined Shepard for the rest of the war. I didn't hear any news about Palavin until the war was over. That is when I found out that both my father and my sister had been killed by the reapers. I had failed them. I should have been there with them. I should have made them leave before the invasion. I should not have let anything stop me from going there and defending them. Even if I had died it was my duty to die protecting them. I have had nightmares every night since I found out they were dead."

"But Garrus." Kasumi said putting a hand under the Turrian's chin and making him look up at her. 'You did fight to protect them. Don't you see Shepard needed you to help him take out all the Reapers, you did everything you could to save your family."

"It doesn't feel that way." Garrus said glumly. "I have had five years of this. You were able to move on,how did you do that?" For the first time Kasumi detected a hint of desperation in his voice.

"There were two main things." Kasumi began to explain. "First I finally figured out that Keiji didn't save my life just so I could spend it alone having nightmares. Second I figured out that if losing him hurt so much then our time together must have been the best time of my life. I decided that I had to think about the good times we had together instead of how we were parted. He wouldn't want to be remembered as the worst thing that ever happened to me. I will not pretend that the problem went away overnight but thinking about the good times and what Keiji would want for me helped me begin to heal."

"You know" Garrus said looking at her for the first time that night. "That does kind of make sense. I guess I have always known my family wouldn't want me to spend the rest of my life like this,I just needed someone to spell it out for me. If you catch me like this again please wake me up and tell me to remember the good times."

"Sure thing" Kasumi said "People who have been through what we have need to look out for each other."

"Oh and Kasumi" Garrus said looking just a little ashamed. "Thanks."

"Anytime" Kasumi replied with a sad grin.

Suddenly they felt the ship shutter.

"We must have dropped out of FTL speeds" Garrus noted standing up and walking to the cockpit. Kasumi followed him and watched as he sat down in the pilot's seat and took control of the ship.

"Yeah we just dropped out of FTL and need to refuel. You go get some sleep,nothing exciting is going on."

"Okay if you are sure you are alright." Kasumi said with a yawn.

"Yeah I am fine." Garrus Answered. "I just need some time alone to think."

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Miranda Lawson sat in her office she was receiving a briefing from Branson on everything they had learned about Kolyat and the Hanar in the hours since the bombing.

"We have been unable to find any connection between the priest Kolyat and the Hanar" Branson was explaining in a professional tone. "Other then his meeting with Drell who came here from the Hanar home world of Kahji, Since most Drell live on Kahji there is nothing strange about that."

"Still" Miranda said sleepily. "Try to find out who he was talking to lately and look into their backgrounds." Miranda had not had more then a few hours sleep a night since this whole business with Shepard's life being threatened had begun and it was starting to take it's toll.

"Yes Ma'am, we are working with C-SEC on that." Branson said and then he continued. "We found how the bomb was delivered. Security footage outside the temple shows a young Drell ductrat going into the temple with the package that we believe had the bomb in it. It seems the bomb was rigged to go off when the package was opened."

"Do we know who hired her?" Miranda asked.

"No" Branson answered with a sad shake of his head. "C-SEC found her body two levels down from the temple. She had been shot in the back of the head execution style. We have the body in one of our labs and we are going over it now for any clues. We are also trying to find out all we can about her background."

It was times like this Miranda was glad she was a professional and had trained herself to live with what was and do her job with out getting too emotional. The story of a poor kid who took a job from a stranger not knowing she was delivering a package of death and then being executed after the fact would be enough to make most people cry. Miranda was glad she was not most people.

Branson continued. "The bomb was a common A113 explosive used by most races so we don't have much hope of using it to track down the bomber."

"Okay" Miranda said calmly. "That does it for the bomb now what about the Hanar in general?"

"Well as you know the Hanar has always worried us but since their military is so small we have never considered them a direct threat." Branson began to explain. "The Hanar were one of the few races who's home world was never directly attacked by the Reapers. They worship the Protheans as gods who raised up all races. The fact that the counsel's stance is that the Protheans did not build the Citadel and the mass relays is the reason they refused to join the counsel. Many Hanar seem to believe it is a disgrace that people who do not follow the ways of the Enkindlers as the Hanar call the Protheans are in control of the Citadel. This has given rise to the Way of the Enkindlers party in Hanar politics."

"Tell me about them?" Miranda said clearly interested.

"Well in a nutshell they are the most popular party since the war and they believe the Reapers were a judgment for not following the teaching of the Enkindlers." Branson began to explain. "There seems to be both radical and moderate wings to the party. The moderates believe that the Hanar just has to keep telling other races about the Enkindlers and at some point the galaxy will return to worshiping them. The Radicals seem to believe that the Hanar should cut themselves off from all aliens to keep themselves clean and that action of some kind needs to be taken to get the Citadel under the control of believers."

"Do we know which wing controls the party?" Miranda asked.

"It's hard to spy on Hanar because of the way they communicate with each other." Branson answered. "We believe the radical wing has been gaining more power. Still if they are they are not doing the things we would expect like building up their military or things of that nature. How ever in the past few years government spending has gone up about ten fold since what it was before the Way of the Enkindlers party came to power."

"Do we know what they are spending all this money on?"

"It seems to be related to genetic engineering."

"Do we know why they are doing this?"

"Publicly they say they are just working on adapting the Drell to Kahje, but we think there is something else going on. We have no idea what it is at the moment but it could be trouble down the road if it is backed by the radical wing of the party."

Miranda sat back in her chair thinking, Branson knew better then to interrupt her thoughts or leave when she acted like this. She was coming up with a plan. "All of this is very troubling." She said at last. "I want to be informed the moment Kolyat wakes and a recall SPECTRE Hosser to the Citadel. By the time he gets here I will have a mission plan for him."

Yes Ma'am" Branson said and then he stood up and left the office. Miranda began going over detailed reports,she had a lot of work to do.

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Kasumi was woken up with the ship suddenly lurched and through her out of her bed and on to the floor. She ran out of her room and to the cockpit,the ship continued to move under her feet as she went. She didn't even have to ask Garrus what was going on when she got to the cockpit.

"Just as we finished refueling a Batarian battle cruiser came up on us." He said as he frantically pulled the ship into an evasive maneuver. Kasumi got into the copilot's seat with out being told. "The first shot took out our mass effect core so we can get away that way." Garrus continued to explain. "On your panel there is a red switch that should give you control of the turrent."

"The one marked turrent, got it!" Kasumi said and then took control of the the guns. The ship had four guns that could turn 360 degrees and Kasumi started using them to fire back. Still they were vastly out gunned. The Batarian battle cruiser was about three time the size of the cargo ship and had a lot more guns.

"I am going to head into that large asteroid field!" Garrus said urgently pointing ahead.

"What are you crazy?!" Kasumi yelled. "Those things are dangerous!"

"I am an not stupid!" Garrus yelled back. "We are smaller then the Batarian ship and that should give us an edge when we maneuver!"

"If we crash and die the only thing I will say to you in haven is I told you so!"

"Fair enough." Garrus said and he gunned the engines and brought the ship into the asteroid field. The Batarrian ship gave chase.

Being in the field was extremely dangerous but Garrus was right it did give them an edge over the other ship. Kasumi was surprised at just how good a pilot the Turrian was. After about an hour play tag the ships ended up coming out the other side of the field. That is when Kasumi saw it.

Somehow between dodging asteroids and trying to cut them off the Batarian ship got turned around and ended up with it's main engines at the rear of the ship where there were no guns pointing at the rear of Garrus' ship. Kasumi swung the turrent around and fired blast after blast into the engines until they exploded in a blast that shook their ship. Garrus and Kasumi watched as an explosion ripped through the Batarian ship and it blew it's self to pieces from the inside out.

"Yeah,Who's the best!" Garrus yelled while raising his hand and giving Kasumi a high five,or in this case a high three.

"We are!" Kasumi answered. "You know you should really name this ship the victory, we seem to keep winning."

"I like that" Garrus said with a smile on his face. It was just then that Kasumi noticed something on her panel.

"There is so sort of strange energy reading coming from the wreckage" She said sitting back down at the controls.

"Can you tell where it is coming from?"

"Yeah there is something that doesn't look like it was part of the ship in the middle of the wreckage" Kasumi answered as she focused one of the ship's cameras on a small round object that was glowing blue.

"It could be important" Garrus said as he got up from his seat and headed for the airlock grabbing his space helmet on the way.

"What are you doing?" Kasumi asked concerned.

"I am going out to get that thing so we can have a look at it. It may have something to do with what is going on."

"Just be careful" Kasumi said.

"Why Kasumi" Garrus said playfully. "If I didn't know better I would think you cared about what happens to me."

"Don't flatter yourself." Kasumi said lightly returning his banter. "I just can't have anything happen to my ride."

Garrus smiled and entered the airlock.

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It took more then an hour for Garrus to carefully make his way through the debris,pick up the object, and get back. Once he was back in the ship he put the object down on the work bench and he an Kasumi began to study it. It was a small ball that was perfectly smooth. It had strange alien writing on it and if it were not for the fact that it was glowing blue from the energy it was putting out they both world swear that it was made of solid stone.

"What do you think it is?" Garrus asked at last.

"I have no idea." Kasumi answered puzzled. "I have never seen or heard of anything like it before." Just then an alarm went off in the cockpit.

"Another ship has entered the system!" Garrus said his voice full of alarm. Both he and Kasumi rushed to their stations in the cockpit. It was then that Garrus breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's a human frigate" Garrus said. "Nothing to worry about."

"At last someone friendly." Kasumi said in relief.

"What th...!" Garrus shouted as a weapons blast from the human ship hit them and shook the whole ship.

"Com system are jammed!" Kasumi reported.

"That blast took out the engines!" Garrus said. "Hey where are you going?!" He yelled after Kasumi as she ran out of the cockpit.

"To hide the object and the data disc!" She yelled back wasting no time getting to the back of the ship. The Human ship was closing on them fast. "Chances are whoever they are they want them and once they get them they will kill us."

"Good thinking!" Garrus yelled back.

Kasumi hid the data disc in her room and then she made her way to the engine room and unscrewed a wall panel. She only had minutes and she had decided to hide the strange alien object behind one of the engine's huge power cable in the engine room wall. That should help hide the energy the object was putting out from scanners. She got the wall panel off and was shoving the object behind the power cable when the object brushed again the cable and a flash of blue energy through her against the oposite wall knocking her senseless. She shook her head and the sound of Garrus' voice from the cockpit brought her to her senses.

"Kasumi get up here now!" He yelled urgently.

Kasumi ran into the cockpit and was shocked by what she saw. What she was seeing out the window was not space as she knew it. It was as if someone had combined the ocean and clouds into one thing and painted them every hue of red all at once. The ship seemed just be drifting in this strange place.

"Where are we?" She asked in awe.

"I have no idea." Garrus answered.

**Well that is it for chapter nine. Sorry it took so long to come after the last chapter was so short but my kid sister got too sick to go to school and I have been keeping her company in the living room. Unfortunately my desktop is in my bedroom so I couldn't write while she was sick. As always I hope you enjoyed it,thanks for reading,and please leave a review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I want to address something right off the bat. As one of the reviews pointed out Garrus' sister and father were alive at the end of ME3. I didn't remember this being addressed in any way in the game so I slipped up. I spent a good portion of the weekend rewriting that scene but nothing I put in there really worked so while I know this may upset some people I am keeping them dead so I can keep that character moment. Between that and the fact that I killed Zaeed getting the Reaper IFF I guess this story can now be seen as slightly AU. I'm sorry if this upsets anyone but I really liked that moment in the last chapter. Now on with chapter ten.**

**Chapter 10**

"I don't like this Shepard" Ashley said trying to remain calm. She and Shepard were in the cockpit of the Normandy having the same fight for the forth time.

"Look Ash" Shepard said sounding a little frustrated. "If I turn down the honor guard Wrex has picked I will not only be saying I don't trust him but I will be sending the message that I don't trust the Krogan."

"Well I don't trust either of them." Ashley replied. She was getting fed up with Shepard being so trusting of everyone to the point of stupidity. "I am in charge of your security,let me do my job!"

"Look folks" Joker piped in from the pilot's seat. "You really need to settle this because we are going to be landing on Tuchanka in about ninety seconds."

"It is settled" Shepard said firmly. "Ashley you can come with me but the Krogan Wrex has picked will be my body guards on the tour."

"Alright,have it your way Skipper." Ashley sighed in defeat.

A few minutes latter the Normandy had landed on an open air landing pad at the new Krogan capital city of United Strength. The airlock opened and Shepard walked out and gave a wave to the large crowd that had gathered around the landing bay. He was followed by a none to happy looking Ashley Williams in full body armor. She was still not happy that Shepard had opted for a casual suit instead of body armor himself. A large group of Krogan in brightly shining armor lined up on either side of the gangplank and when Shepard reached the bottom some of them made a small semi circle around him and Ashley. It was then that Wrex walked up to them in what looked like a brand new set of armor. Wrex raised his right hand and a hush fell over the crowd.

"I Urdnot Wrex." He said loud enough for crowd to hear. "Chief of Chiefs of the Krogan Union Welcome you President Shepard of the Galactic Citadel Counsel to Tuchanka. I extend the best wishes and protection of all the Krogan people to you." He then made a small bow of his head.

"I except your welcome." Shepard replied. "I am glad to be back among my friends the Krogan people. It has been too long since I was last here and I look forward to seeing the great works you have done since I was last here." He then returned Wrex's bow. The crowd began cheering and and Wrex stepped forward and surprised Shepard by grabbing him in a big hug and slapping his back. Shepard found the wind knocked out of himself for a second but returned the hug.

"It has been to long since we fought side by side." Wrex said with a smile.

"I couldn't agree more." Shepard said truly happy to see his old friend again for the first time in years.

Wrex then turned to Ashley and spoke. "Well it good to see at least one person from the old Normandy crew is still kicking ass instead of sitting on it." He said this with a laugh and padded her left shoulder. He did it so hard that Ashley nearly fell backwards. She was uncomfortable but managed to give him a small smile and say "It's good to see you too Wrex." in reply.

"Well come on I have a lot to show you." Wrex said and with the honor guard on either side he led Shepard and Ashley down from the landing pad and into the new city.

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Tali found walking back into the Alpha Project chamber strange. Just over a day ago one of her friends had died here and yet besides the new sensors and alarm systems nothing seemed to have changed. The chamber looked as it always had and the team was going about their work same as ever. Tali decided she had to say a few words before getting to work.

Tali cleared her throat loudly and then began to speak. "If I could have everyone's attention for a moment" Her voice was loud and commanding but there was a hint of sadness to it as well. "Recently we lost not just a member of our team but a good friend. I would just like to say a few words about my friend Liara before we go to work. She cared about people and was loyal to her friends. She was not trained in combat when I first met her but I saw her head into the line of fire many times to help other people. She did what she thought had to be done for the good of her friends and the galaxy." Tali's voice was starting to break a little now. "But her real passion was the study of the past. She could never learn too much. I think we all had to tell her at least once to leave and get some rest and a shower ." A light somewhat sad laugh passed through the room at this. "It was a passion she had since she was a small child and she never lost it. She was never happier then when explaining something new she had found to someone. She would have never wanted anything she found to be used to hurt another living soul." Tali's voice now turned from sad to firm. "We lost her because we don't understand this object yet. Up until now we have just been working on a mystery now it has cost the lives of one of our own. We must find the answers so this never happens again. From now on we check everything and I want to hear every idea no matter how insane it sounds. We own it to Liara to find the answers. Now let's get to work so we can find them." With that the crowd broke up and got to work.

"Good speech." Brynn said giving Tali a small hug.

"Well I had to say something." Tali replied sadly and then she pulled herself together and added "Now we need to find those answer I was talking about."

Tali spent the next few hours overseeing work and taking a look at readings from before and after the power surge. a tall older human with white curly hair called Tali over to his station.

"What is it ?" Tali asked.

"I have found something very interesting." The older human answered in his usual well spoken English way. "Now we have been assuming that a signal from outside the Citadel triggered what happened the other day."

"Do you have some reason to believe that is not what happened?" Tali asked.

"Yes I do. You see I have checked all three times and while it is true that in each case the power surge kept us from having records to track the signal,we do have reading from before the surge. I have looked over every one of these readings and I can find no sign that there was a signal received in this room let alone that Object Alpha picked it up."

"If that is the case then what did trigger Object Alpha?" Tali asked.

"I don't know." The old doctor answered clearly worried. "I am going to keep looking until I find out."

"Let me know if you find anything." Tali said and then began making her way to Brynn's station. As she went along she stopped for a second to glance at a section of the wall covered with alien writing. This was the last place she had seen Liara working. It seemed strange not to see her there any more. At that moment Tali decided that she must be more tired then she thought because for an instant she could swear the alien letters changed to galactic standard and spelled out her name. She shook her head and looked again and they were back to being the alien writing she saw every day. She continued to Brynn's station.

"Brynn can you bring up the footage and readings from just before the power surge?" Tali asked.

"Are you sure you want to see that? I mean you may see Liara dying." Brynn's voice was full of concern for her friend.

"I don't want to." Tali said firmly. "But I need to."

They began to watch the footage. To Tali's relief she could not see Liara in it. They watched it for times and one the fifth Tali spotted something. It wasn't something the sensors had picked up instead it was something she saw just as the object started to glow with the power surge.

"Stop the footage!" Tali said urgently.

"What is it?" Brynn asked.

"Look you can see the light from one of the lamps just behind the object."

"So what is odd about that?" Brynn asked clearly puzzled.

"So slow it down and keep your eye on the light as the power surges." Tali answered. Brynn did as she said and then Tali spoke up again. "Stop! You see the light moved."

"It looks like it did," Brynn answered. "But the only reason it would do that with out the lamp moving is if the object was bending spacetime at a greater then usual rate when the power surged."

"Exactly." Tali said. "We may have just taken a big step towards finding out what this object is and what it does."

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Branson had entered Miranda Lawson's office to deliver a report and found that not for the first time this week she had fallen asleep at her desk. He decided not to wake her and turned and was heading out of the room when he heard her voice.

"Something is bothering me about all this Branson." She said with a yawn.

Branson turned to face her and asked "What is that?"

"Well" Miranda began to explain. "We have been assuming that at least three races for their own reasons are working together to kill Shepard and bring down the counsel."

"Yes that seems to be what is going on." Branson said.

"Yes but they all have different reasons. The Yagh just want revenge on the Counsel for trapping them on their home world, The Vorcha are after Shepard because he destroyed one of their colonies in the Reaper War, and the Hanar are in this because they see it as a sacred duty to return control of the Citadel to true believers."

"Those are all good reasons." Branson said he didn't know what she was getting at but he could tell she was on to something.

"But they are not the same reasons." Miranda said. "In fact they are so very different that they each have their own goals so what brought them together?"

"Maybe it is a simple as the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Branson answered.

"I don't think so." Miranda said with a shake of her head. "This plan is too complex and to careful timed to come about by chance from three groups with different goal to be behind it. I think there is another party who's idea this was and they brought them all together."

"If you are right we need to find out who it is fast." Bransons said.

"Yes and to do that we need a live lead. Find me one Branson."

"Yes Ma'am." Branson said and he left the room. One thing was for sure he was in for another busy day.

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Captain Sola of C-Sec was not like most Salarians or most C-Sec officers for that matter. For one thing he didn't rely on on the labs to solve his crimes for him. Yes he used the labs,but he still felt that the best way to find out what was really going on was to talk to people. He was good at telling how truthful people were being with him and unlike most Salarians he was able to care about the people he was talking to. It wasn't that most Salarians were heartless it was just that with their short lifespans(At least compared to other races)and their brains working so much faster they would move past their emotions about any given matter much faster then other races. This had the effect of sometimes making it hard to relate to aliens on a person to person level. Sola had lived most of his life on the Citadel. His parents had been diplomats but they had died when he was a year and a half old in a car crash. He had no other family and he had been adopted by a kind older Turrian couple. They had been the parents he had known and it was because of them that he had trained himself to slow down and care about people more then most of his kind.

Right now while techs were going through the temple and looking at tapes he was on a lower level of the citadel talking to people. He had been "pounding the pavement" as the humans put it for about three hours asking about the Drell ductrat who had delivered the bomb to the Drell temple. Most people claimed not to know anything but by pressing a few of the ductrats around her age he had learned a few things about her.

He had learned that her name was Gwell Kyso and that strangely enough she was not a real ductrat. The other kids were not sure where she lived but they knew she had parents and was not poor. Sola wondered if her parents knew they she hung out on the lower levels,I had a feeling they didn't. Still at least now he knew to get into contact with her parents. He was not looking forward to that trip. He had asked what she was going down here but all the other ductrats could tell him was that they guessed she liked hanging out with them and doing things like stealing food or credit chits was a thrill for her. She didn't seem to have told anyone much about herself and she didn't seem to have any enemies. When asked who could have hired her to deliver the package all the ductrats he had talked to said they didn't know. He suspected that they had an idea but they were not about answer him. Chances are it was someone from one of the gangs or merc groups that ran things down here and the kids were smart enough to know not to cross them. He was just about to give up and go tell Gwell's parrents that she was dead when a Vorcha child who didn't look like he belonged on this level came running up to him. He decided that he should get this kid out of here since he looked like he had money and he didn't look a day over seven years old. As he walked up the boy looked up at him with a mixture of worry and fear and then the boy was the first to speak.

"One of my friends told me that you were asking about Gwell." The boy said.

"That's right,do you know something about her?" Sola asked kindly.

"Yeah,she is...was the older sister of my friend Elson."

"I see." said Sola. "And what is your name?"

"Krowdon." The boy answered.

"Well Krowdon my car is other here why don't we take it back to your home and you can tell me what you know."

"Okay." Krowdon said and let Sola lead him to the car. After they had gotten in and Krowdon had told Sola where he lived Sola began to ask questions.

"So how well did you know Gwell?" He asked.

"She was just my friend's older sister. She used to get in trouble all the time. She was always sneaking out to hang out with ductrats."

"I see." said Sola. "Any idea why?"

"No" The boy answered. "I think she just liked them. So she really is dead?"

"Yes I am afraid so." Sola answered in a comforting tone.

"Do you know who killed her?" The boy asked with a tear coming down his face.

"No I don't. I think she was killed by someone who hired her to do a job."

"I see" The boy said and he was clearly thinking something over.

"Do you know anything about this." Sola pressed.

"I don't know." The boy said. "But you see the other day my friend and I followed her when she came down here out and we saw something. My friend didn't say anything because he is afraid of getting into trouble. If you think it will help I will tell you what we saw."

"Anything could help, please tell me what you saw." Sola said.

"Alright" Krowdon began. "Well we followed her down here because we want to know where she was going. We thought she was going to meet her friends but instead she met an adult. I don't think they saw us but we saw them from behind some crates. She was given a package and a credit chit and told to take the package to the Drell temple. I didn't think it was important until some kinds told me C-SEC was asking question about her."

"Well it is very important" Sola said. "Now I need you to think hard do you remember anything about that adult."

"Yes" The boy answered.

"Was that adult a Batarian or Hanar maybe?"Sola asked.

"No,it was a Human female." The boy answered.

"Thank you." Sola said. "You have just given me a big break in this case. You did the right thing. I will need you to come to C-Sec with me and tell me what she looks like,can you do that?"

"If it will help Elson and his family I will." The boy said.

"Oh it will." Sola said and turned his car and headed for C-Sec HQ.

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Trading Unit 276 had just turned his Geth trading ship around and was heading back to Rannoch. Since the end of the war and the Geth had been given free will he had traded goods between the Quarians and the Asari,this time an Asari war ship had turned him back at the border so he could not trade. He wondered if the Asari were still afraid of the Geth. Despite the fact that he had free will there were still many things about organics that he did not understand. He was not far out of Asari space when his sensors detected something in front of his ship. He closed in for a closer look and it appeared to be an Asari escape pod from a ship that had wrecked. There were faint life signs coming from it so a few minutes latter he had it in his ship's cargo bay and had opened it. He found an older Asari would in battle armor inside. She was barely breathing and he was headed to the com united to call the Asari for help when she woke up gasping in for air.

"Don't call anyone." She said urgently.

"But you need help." The Geth said. "I am just going to call your people so they could help you."

"If you do that they will come her and kill me." The Asari said.

"Why would they do that?" TU276 asked. "Are you a fugitive?"

"No but I know something that they do not want to get out."

"Who are you?" The Geth asked.

"I am a Justicar." The Asari answered. "My name is Samara and I need to get to the Citadel. It is a matter of galactic security."

"Very well then I we will go there."

"You believe me that easily?" Samara asked.

"Yes as soon as you gave me your name I checked my data banks and found a picture of a Justicar named Samara that helped defeat the Reapers,you are her. So if you say the Galaxy is in danger it is logical to believe you and take you where you want to go."

"Thank you." Samara said. "We should leave this area quickly the people who destroyed my ship may come back."

"Very well Samara Justicar." The Geth said and tunred and headed out of the cargo bay.

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The tour of United Strength had gone well. Shepard was amazed at how much the Krogan had done in such a short time. They had turned the energy that they had spent on war to rebuilding their world and it was awe inspiring. Huge stone buildings were everywhere. There were shops,schools,factories, stone statues of heroes of the past,and there was even some plant life returning to the area. It truly was a modern Krogan city and it had all been done in a such a short time. The most amazing thing was something no one ever thought they would see,children were running underfoot everywhere. Wrex had not been joking when he said that the Krogan could pop them out fast. After all the stress of the past few days and losing Liara it felt great to see something that was going right.

Ashley Williams had mixed feelings about what she saw. On the one hand she was happy for Wrex and the Krogan,after all this time they were getting a chance to rebuild. On the other hand she was worried. If the race that was able to all this ever turned hostile she didn't know how they would stop them. She felt bad for having such thoughts about someone who had saved her life more then once and his people who had suffered so much but it was part of her job. She pushed those thoughts aside and instead focused on keeping Shepard safe.

After the tour Wrex had asked for Shepard to show him around the Normandy for old time's sake. Shepard was glad to do this and at the end of the tour Wrex insisted on opening a bottle of he had brought with him in Shepard's quarters. Shepard couldn't help but notice as the entered that Wrex looked worried,it was clear that the fun part of the day was over.

"What's on your mind Wrex?" Shepard asked.

"Well first off I would just like to say how sorry I was to hear about Liara." Wrex said sadly.

"Yeah she was a good friend and teammate." Shepard said.

"Now what I am going to say will not keep any longer and this is the only place I could be sure none of my people would be able to bug." Wrex said trying to get to the point.

"What is going on it Wrex,I have never seen you like this." Shepard said.

"Do you remember a few months ago when a Salarian transport crashed on our colony world Rothla."

Shepard nodded. "I remember reading something about it,the inter 57 man crew was lost."

"Well that ship crashed on purpose!" Wrex said now showing anger.

"What makes you think that?" Shepard asked clearly taken about by Wrex's change in tone.

"Because every birth since then on that planet has been a still birth!"

"You think they have unleashed the Genophage again." Sheaprd asked shocked.

"I don't think I know,there has not been one live birth since that ship crashed! They are doing it again only this time their goal is to wipe us out completely!" Wrex yelled.

"But that can not be the SPECTREs destroyed all the research." Shepard said.

"You know how clever Salarians are they must have hidden copies!"

"Wrex I know you are mad." Shepard said trying to calm his friend down. "Please give me a chance to look into this and deal with it with out starting a war. A war would split the counsel and undo everything we worked for."

"Why do you think I have called you here?!" Wrex said. "I have been keeping this quiet,only myself and a few others I trust know but I can't keep it quiet forever. The first think the Krogan will do when this becomes widely know will be to kill me and go to war and this time with a 100% effect Genophage we will be exterminated. I will not let that happen,but I can't keep it quiet much longer."

Shepard thought about the problem for a minute and then asked. "What if I could get you those colonies you wanted, Do you think settling them would keep your people distracted and buy us a little more time?"

"Yes but how would you do that." Wrex answered.

"Never mind but as soon as I get back to the Citadel I will call for a vote and get them.

"Okay" Wrex said turning to leave. "Don't be gentle with the Salarians,they are trying to wipe my people out!"

After Wrex had left Shepard sat down to think. Things were now very bad. He didn't want to make the deal with Aria but he didn't see that he had a choice if he wanted to avoid war. He would have to make the deal and fix whatever problems it created later.

**Well that is chapter ten. As always I hop you enjoyed it,thanks for reading,and please leave a review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"So...Where do you think we are?" Garrus asked looking out the window at the seas of red that surrounded them.

"I have now idea." Kasumi answered. This place was like nothing either of them had ever seen before. They were adrift in a sea of red clouds once in a while they would see what looked like a flash of lightening off in the distance.

"Do you think we are...dead?" Garrus half asked half stated.

"I don't think so." Kasumi answered. "This place isn't nice enough to be heaven and it's not painful enough to be hell."

"I don't know." Garrus said lightly. "I am stuck here with only you for company."

"And I am stuck with you on a ship with out any books or vids." Kasumi said playfully.

"I'll make you a deal,we get out of here and I will buy you a book at our next stop." Garrus said.

"Deal." Kasumi said.

"Alright." Garrus said thoughtfully turning away from the window. "We seem to be safe for now but we don't know how long that will last,the first thing we should do is repair the engines."

"Right." Kasumi said. With that they turned and left the cockpit and headed for the engine room.

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"You can't do this Shepard!" Ashley Williams yelled at the president,her face was bright red. She and and her old friend were having a private meeting in his quarters and he had just told her about his plan to play for time with the Krogan by agreeing to Aria's demand that Shepard stop the SPECTREs from operating inside Asari space in exchange for her vote in favor of new Krogan colonies.

"You think I am happy about this?" Shepard asked clearly frustrated. "I don't see that I have any choice we need time in order to defuse this situation."

"Look all the races agreed to allow the SPECTREs to operate inside their borders,if you do this you will not only weaken the SPECTREs and yourself but also everything the new counsel stands for. This will get out some how and then everyone will know that the counsel doesn't enforce it's own laws." Ashley said.

"I know that." Shepard answered sadly. "But I really can't think of another way to handle this."

"At least wait a day and have a meeting with Lawson,Taylor,and I before giving the order so we can try to think of something." Ashley pleaded.

"All right." Shepard agreed with a sigh. "But I can't risk a counsel splitting war with the Batarians out there planning something."

"Understood" Ashley said and she began to leave the room but then turned and spoke to Shepard before leaving. "This isn't as easy as fighting reapers is it Skipper." A sad smile went across her face.

"Yeah it sure isn't Ash." Shepard answered. "At least I could shoot at Reapers."

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Captain Sola stared at the three dimensional image that one of the lab techs had created of the Woman that the Vorcha boy had seen pay the Drell girl who had delivered the bomb to the priest in the Drell temple. He had just gotten back from telling the girl's family that she was dead and he was hoping for a solid lead and instead he got this. This could be any one of a thousand human woman on the Citadel. Still he had all ordered a search through records and that anyone woman who looked like this to be stopped if she tried to leave the Citadel. Not that it would do much good,who ever it was could have gone back to earth by now and that would mean they would never find her. Still he had to do everything he could to catch her.

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Tali was not doing well and she knew it. She was worrying about everything,she was stressed,and not sleeping well. She put on a brave face because she had to keep working,she owed Liara that much but she knew she wasn't doing well. On top of everything else she had started to see things. It never lasted long but it had started with her thinking she had seen her name spelled out on one of the walls of the chamber but when she looked closer it was the same alien writing that had always been there. Then today she thought she saw the words "You are in danger." In galactic standard,but again it was just her seeing things. She needed to relax but she would not let herself do that until she found out how Liara had been killed. She knew the Asria would do nothing less for her. She was thinking of this when the old grey haired human Patrick Pertwee called her over to his station.

"So what have you got ?" Tali asked the older human.

"Well" He began explaining calmly. "You know I don't think that an out side signal caused the energy flare ups from the object."

Tali nodded.

"I think I know what did cause them." He said.

"What was it?" Tali asked.

"Well I noticed that just before the flare ups the energy buffers lost a very small percentage of the energy they were holding,it was so small we didn't notice it at first." He explained.

"So" said Tali thoughtfully. "You think it is controlled by receiving different size and types of energy bursts directed at it."

"Exactly!" The human said excitedly. "I think the signal was directed at a person not the object and it was telling the person what needed to be down. That person has to be someone with access to the energy buffers."

"But that means there is a traitor on our team." Tali said her voice a mixture of shock and terror.

"Yes and whoever it is our only chance of catching them is if they don't know we are on to them."

"Okay." Tali said calming herself. "You keep working on trying to figure out who it is and I am going to go talk to director Lawson and Executor Taylor."

"Right" answered.

Tali then turned and left the chamber.

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Fifteen minutes after the SPECTREs who were guarding Kolyat's room had informed Miranda Lawson that he had woken up she was entering his private hospital room and ready to get some answers about what was going on.

A nurse just left as Miranda entered the room,the doctor had told her it was touch and go for a while but now it looked like the Drell priest would be okay. Still he didn't look well. There were scratches and bandages all over his body,both his legs were in casts,and he was hooked up to a machine to help him breath normally. Miranda pulled a chair up beside Kolyat's bed and sat down,the Drell turned and looked at her.

"My name is Miranda Lawson,I am the director of the SSID,is it okay if I ask you a few questions?" Miranda asked in a business like manor.

"I know who you are." Kolyat said with some effort,his speech was sometimes interrupted by coughing fits. "My father spoke well of you."

"I didn't know Thane ever talked about our mission to you and I didn't know he had an opinion about me." Miranda said a little surprised.

"He told me everything about his life." The Drell said looking at her. "He said that you were scared and confused that your fear had driven you to do many evil deeds but that you had a good heart and you could redeem yourself."

"I see." Miranda said uncomfortably,she was not used to people being so personal with her.

"I will help you in any way I can." The Drell said.

"Good." Miranda said glad to be back on topic. "When they pulled you out of the temple you said the word Hanar to me,what did you mean by that?" She asked.

"I believe the Hanar sent the bomb to me." Kolyat answer calmly.

"Why?"

"Because of what happened about a week ago." Kolyat began to explain. "A Drell came into the temple in the middle of the day and asked to speak to a priest and I was the one he talked to in private. He said his name was Zell Elmont and that he needed advice,something was clearly troubling him. He said he felt his soul was in danger and needed to know what he had to do to make things right."

Miranda just sat back and listened not interrupting the tale. She was recording the whole meeting with her Omni-Tool.

"At first he didn't want to tell me what he had done." Kolyat continued. "I told him I could not advise him unless he told me what he had done. He told me that he was a doctor and a few years ago he had started working on a top secret project for the Hanar government. At first he didn't know what it was but once he found out he decided to leave. It took him years to find a chance to escape but a few months ago he saw his chance and made his way to the citadel and he had been in hiding ever since. I asked him what the project was but he said all he could tell me was that it could kill millions maybe even billions. He said if he told me any more I would be in danger. I told him that the only way to make this right would be to expose the project. It took me a long time but I got him to agree to bring me details of the project and then we would decide who it was safe to take it to. He then left and I never saw him again."

"So you think the Hanar are trying to cover up whatever this project is." Miranda said.

"That is the only reason I can think of that someone would send me a bomb." Kolyat said.

"Well don't worry we have you under guard now and I will not let anything happen to you." Miranda said trying to reassure the Drell.

"My fate is in the hands of the goddess." The Drell said. This reply surprised Miranda,most people would not be so calm after having been blown up and knowing that the fate of millions of lives was on the line.

"Still we will do our part." Miranda said then added. "Do you think you would know this Drell if you saw him again?"

"Yes." Kolyat answered.

"Okay I will be in touch." Miranda said. She then stood up and left the room. Pieces were beginning to fall into place. Whatever the Hanar were doing it had to be with the goal of getting control of the Citadel and it looked like they may be working with the Batarians. She had a lot to think about. Now she knew the stakes were at least millions of lives,she had to put this puzzle together fast.

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Jacob had to admit that things had been going smoother then he thought they would the past two days. He had not been sure if staying at the house with his and Shepard's kids would be a good fit for him,after all he was a military man,what did he know about Quarian children. He was glad to see that they were not that different from human children. He didn't know if this was because of Shepard or if all Quarian children were like this. He had to brake up the odd fight and so forth but so far the kids had more or less behaved and Shepard's kids seemed to enjoy having John and Susan over. He had to admit that he found the fact the Raan was so attached to the Teddy bear he and Brynn had given her years ago to be kind of cute. Still he had to wonder where a Quarian child had heard the name Pablo.

At the moment Jacob was sitting in the living room waiting. He had gotten a message from Tali where she said she needed to talk to him. She didn't say what it was about only that she needed to see him in person. Jacob didn't know what to think of this all he knew was that he hoped this was some sort of break that would tell them what was going on in the galaxy at the moment and finally give him a target to take care of.

The guards let Tali in and Jacob stood up and walked over to her.

"Hi" He said.

"Hey" Tali said,she was clearly nervous.

"Let's go into Shepard's office so we can talk privately." Jacob said. They bother walked in and closed the door behind them.

"So what's up?" Jacob asked.

"Well it's a long story." Tali said turning to face him,she was moving her hands in the air the way she always did when she was nervous. "I hope I am wrong about this.

"Just tell me the facts,Tali." Jacob said.

Tali then went on to tell him about the energy surges and everything she,Brynn,and had found. Jacob listened clearly thinking deeply about everything she was saying. When she was done he finally spoke.

"I agree with you." He said worry slipping into his voice. "There has to be a traitor in your team. This also mean Liara was murdered by the traitor."

"So how do we catch this Bastard?!" Tali said clearly angry.

"I think you should go back to work and see what you can find. Take the two SPECTREs who are stationed outside the chamber in with you from now on. I know they will get in the way of work but if you do find something that points to who the traitor is you could be in danger."

"Alright." Tali said,glad to have a clear plan of action. "What will you do?" She asked Jacob.

"I am going to talk to Miranda and see if we can figure out who the traitor is." Jacob answered.

"That sounds like a plan" Tali said.

Just then there was a knock at the office door.

"Come in" Jacob said. The door opened and Jeff walked in.

I have a question." the boy said and then stopped. "Hi mom I didn't know you were here." He said surprised.

"Yes I had some things I had to talk to Jacob about." She said bending down and hugging the boy. "I am sorry but I need to get back to work now."

"Okay" The boy said clearly a little sad. "I just have a question for then." The boy said.

"What is it." Jacob.

"I have a friend from school named Krowdon and I just got a message from him asking if he could come over and play since I have not been to school."

Jacob looked at Tali seeking her input,Tali just nodded her head and said. "It's okay Jacob we know him,if you think you can handle it then it is okay with me."

"Okay." Jacob said a small smile. "Tell your friend he can come over."

"Yes!" The boy said and turned and ran out of the room. He was followed by his mother.

Jacob sat down in Shepard's chair behind the desk and started to think. "Wait a second." He thought to himself. "Didn't Sola mention a kid named Krowdon in a report he just sent in? Well it really was a small galaxy." Jacob then reached for the com terminal to call Miranda,they had a lot of work to do.

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The mood on the Victory(as Garrus was now calling his formerly nameless ship)had turned somewhat jolly as Garrus and Kasumi worked on the engines. Fortunately only a few parts that had been damaged by weapons fire need to be replaced. The repairs had only taken a few hours and while they were going on Kasumi and Garrus had exchanged theories about where they were and how they got there in between teasing each other and talking about old times on the Normandy. When it came to how they got wherever it was they were they both agreed it had something to do with the stone ball and it's reaction to touching the power cable. They decided that after they repaired the engines they would try giving it power again and see if it would take them back from the unknown place they were at at the moment.

Garrus hated to admit it but having Kasumi on board helped him relax in a way he didn't know he had needed to before. He had always thought of himself as a loner who didn't need other people to fight for justice but he had to admit his mood had improved since the young thief had come on board. Work seemed to go faster and his mood had improved. "What is wrong with you Vakarian" He thought to himself. "You must be getting soft."

At last the repairs were complete and the engines were working. Kasumi hat taking the stone alien ball and put it in the middle of the floor and then hooked a power cable up to the ship,in her gloved hand she was holding it ready to drop it on top of the ball. She didn't know about Garrus but she was scared,she had no idea where they were now and now way of knowing what would happen when she dropped the cable. Still they had to try something,so she pushed those thoughts aside. Garrus was standing a few feet in front of her near the engine room door.

"Ready?" Kasumi asked Garrus.

"Ready." The Turian answered.

"Okay here goes nothing." Kasumi said taking in a deep breath. She dropped the cable and it touched the ball briefly before sliding off and hitting the floor. She and Garrus dashed out of the room just as it filled with blue energy for a brief second. The ship shook under their feet and Garrus grabbed her before she hit the floor.

"Well." Garrus said with a sigh. "Lets good see if they did anything." They both then walked into the cockpit and looked out the main window.

"Well we seem to be in normal space and near a planet of some kind." Kasumi said with a smile.

"Yeah and that earth ship that fired on us is nowhere to be seen." Garrus said taking the pilot's seat. "We are not at the same place we were before."

"Where are we then." Kasumi asked worried.

"I don't know." Garrus answered while working with some controls. "It's going to take a few minutes for the computer to figure it out. Wait I am picking up a transmission from the planet." Garrus put the transmission on the ship's speakers.

The voice was the even unfeeling one of an Elcor. "Urgently:" It said. "Unknown vessel this is Dekuuna space traffic control,please state your business on Dekuuna and move to an approved flight path."

Garrus and Kasumi looked at each other shocked.

"That planet must be Dekuuna." Garrus said.

"But how did we get here?" Kasumi asked still shocked. "We were about two days away just a few hours ago."

"I don't know." Garrus said. "But at least we are here. One thing is for sure,we need to get that ball thing somewhere it can be studied."

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Jeff and Krowdon had been playing happily in Jeff's room for a couple of hours. Jeff had listened and not quite believed his friend's story about his adventure with C-SEC and the murdered Drell girl Gwell. They were playing with some action figures when Jeff heard his mother's voice call from downstairs.

"Kids dinner is ready!" She called and he and Krowdon ran out of if room and down the stairs. As the got to the bottom of the stairs Jeff could smell the food and see both his mother and setting the table. Suddenly he felt his friend's hand on his shoulder pulling him back. Krowdon seemed scared.

"What wrong?" Jeff asked his friend puzzled.

"That's her." Krowdon softly so only his friend could hear pointing to Bryyn Taylor.

"That's who?" Jeff asked.

"You are all in danger." Krowdon said still showing fear. "That is the woman I saw paying Gwell to deliver the bomb to the Drell temple."

Now Jeff was scared,he trusted his friend and if he was right then his whole family was in danger,but would Jacob and his guards believe Krowdon? Jeff had no idea what to do all he knew was that they were in trouble.

"We need to tell my mom." Jeff said.

"What if she doesn't believe you?" Krowdon asked with alarm.

"Why wouldn't she?"

"Because you said that woman and her mate are old friends of your mom and dad and I can't prove she did it." Krowdon answered.

"Then what do we do." Now Jeff was very scared.

"We can't let her know that I know,I have to talk to the guy from C-SEC."

"Okay." Jeff said and then he and his friend walked the rest of the way down the stairs trying to look normal. Neither of them had ever been this scarred of anything in their lives. One false move could mean they are someone they cared about could end up dead. This was not a job for kids but through cruel fate they now had the job.

**Well that is chapter 11. As always thanks for reading and please leave a review. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

**First off sorry it took so long for this chapter to come after the cliffhanger I left the last chapter on. I felt like I was losing Tali's character so I took some time off to replay Mass Effects 1 and 2 so that I could get back in her head. Now on with the next chapter.**

**Chapter 12**

If there was one thing John Shepard had learned in his life it was that bad news almost always came at night and it would not have the decency to come when you were up late doing paper work. No,it would always wait until you were fast asleep and getting some much needed rest before it would come and not let you get back to sleep.

Shepard was awoken by the beep of the com unit and EDI's voice.

"Sorry to wake you." The A.I's voice said as Shepard slowly woke up and rubbed the cobwebs from his eye. "But we have an incoming message from Prime Minister Hackett of the Earth Systems Alliance marked urgent." Shepard flipped the lights on and started groping for a shirt. His eye took a second to get use to the light. Finally he found a shirt and made his way to the com station at his desk.

"Put it through EDI." Shepard said sleepily. The screen came to life and the old admiral now turned Prime Minister who had commanded Shepard in the Reaper War appeared on it.

" I am sorry to disturb you at this late hour." The old man said.

"That's alright." Shepard answered with a yawn. "What's up Hackett?" Shepard rarely used the titles of people that he thought of as friends and he and the old former Admiral had been through too much for Shepard to think of his an anything other then a friend.

"Well" The old man began. Shepard noticed that the years in public office had taken a toll on his old friend the same as they had for him. He looked much older like more then five years had pasted since the end of the war. "A security matter has just been brought to my attention and I think you need to know about it."

"Alright,please continue." Shepard said sitting down in his chair.

"The fifth fleet has been assigned to patrol the border and deal with pirates and slavers who have been raiding our colonies." Shepard nodded that he understood and the old man continued. "We lost contact with the fifth fleet two days ago. At first we thought the com relay in their system had just broken down so we sent the frigate Grant to investigate."

"What did they find?" Shepard asked fearing the answer.

"Shepard." Hackett said gravely. "They didn't find a thing."

"What do you mean they didn't find a thing." Shepard asked leaning forward in his chair, he was now fully awake.

"There was no sign of the fifth fleet." Hackett explained to the shocked Shepard. "There was no sign of battle or anything the fifth fleet is just gone and no one seems to have seen it."

"How could that be?" Shepard asked hoping against hope Hackett had an asnwer.

"We have no idea. I called you as soon as I got the report on the results of our search. I thought you needed to know." Shepard was not used to seeing Hackett worried he had kept the fleets together during the Reaper War so the fact that he now looked worried said something about the gravity of the situation.

"Thanks" Shepard said and then he took a few seconds to think before asking his next question. "Tell me were the pirates and slavers Batarians?"

"Yes they were,why did you want to know that?" Hackett answered.

"Well we have info that the Batarians are planing something." Shepard explained. "We don't know what it is yet but the goal seems to be to divide the counsel."

"How and why would they some how make the fifth fleet vanish?" Hackett asked clearly more worried now.

"I don't know." Shepard admitted. "But I think we need to share information on this."

"Agreed." Hackett said.

"I will be on the Citadel in the morning can you have Counselar Jackson bring me everything you have on the fifth fleet and it's mission?"

"Of course" Hackett said.

"Alright" Shepard said with a tired sigh. "Since there doesn't seem to be anything more I can do tonight I am going to go back to sleep." With that Shepard switched off the com unit,went back to bed,and turn off the lights. He tried to sleep but bad news did what it had always done to him,it kept him from sleeping. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

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Diner pasted awkwardly in the Shepard house. Jeff and his friend Krowdon tried to act normal but all the adults could tell something was wrong. They were asked repeatedly what was bothering them but they both kept answering by saying nothing was wrong. By the end of the mean the adults had given up and both boys were happy to leave the table. After diner Krowdon's mother came by to pick him up. Tali and Brynn chated with her for a few minutes. Krowdon did not like this and kept asking his mom if they could go. Finally to his relief they left. He was very worried despite the number of guards,he hoped his friend would be okay. Once he and his mother were safely in their car he decided to talk to her.

"Mom" He said clearly scared.

"Yes,what is wrong?" His mother asked. She had didn't know what was wrong with her son but she suspected that it has something to do with the case C-SEC had asked him about.

"I need you to take me to C-SEC." The boy said just spitting it out.

"Why?" His mother asked now very concerned.

"Because I saw the woman C-SEC asked me about." He said. He was in way over his head.

"What?!" his mother asked shocked. "When and where?"

"Tonight,please just take me there I think Jeff may be in danger." The boy said in panic and then he started to cry.

"Okay." his mother said trying to calm him down. "We will go to the nearest C-SEC station." and with that she turned the car around and began heading in the direction of a small C-SEC outpost on the commons.

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In the Shepard house Jeff was glad to see his friend leave because that meant he could go up to his room and shut the door. The young Quarian lay face down on his bed and began to cry. This was all too much for him,he was scared and had no idea what to do. Jeff lay on his bed for a long time he finally stopped crying. He was starting to pull himself together when he heard a knock at the door. Jeff slowly got out of his bed and walked to the door,he didn't really want to talk to anyone and he really didn't want anyone to know he had been crying. He opened the door and saw it was his older brother Rael,he was going to close the door on him but his brother stepped into the room before he could.

"What is wrong with you?" Rael asked and his voice sounded worried.

"Nothing is wrong with me." Jeff answered with a sniff.

"something is wrong because you have been cry." Rael pressed.

"Just leave me alone!" Jeff yelled turning away and heading to his bed.

"Well if you will not tell me you need to talk to mom." Rael said following his younger brother. He didn't have a clue what was going on but he was worried about the younger Quarian.

"I can't tell her!" Jeff shout again this time through tears.

"Then tell me and I will try to help." Rael said clearly frustrated.

"Okay but you have to promise not to tell mom." Jeff said as he got control of himself and sat up on his bed.

"Okay I promise." Rael said.

Jeff went on to tell Rael everything Krowdon had told him. Rael didn't believe a word of it. After all the Taylors were friends of their parents and had helped them in the reaper war,but he didn't know how to talk sense into his brother. He decided the best person to calm Jeff down was their mother,so he decided he had to convince Jeff to talk to her.

"You have to talk to mom." Rael said.

"I can't,She could get hurt." Jeff pleaded.

"And she could get hurt if you don't talk to her,they work together after all." Rael pointed out.

"Alright I'll talk to her." Jeff said standing up off of the bed. He didn't know if this was the right thing to do but he figured Rael was right and he had to at least try and warn his mother of the danger.

When Jeff got downstairs his mother and Brynn were on one of the couches talking and laughing while watching a vid. Jacob was seated in a chair in a corner of the room doing some paper work and the C-SEC guards stood watch. Jeff was getting very scared as he got near the couch. What if his mother didn't believe him,what if did something,and what if this got his mom killed. Still there was nothing for it but to go on and tell his mother everything.

"M m m mom can I talk to you?" The boy asked nervously.

Tali turned to look at her son concerned,Brynn Taylor turned to look at him too she seemed worried about the boy as well and put a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. Jeff did not like this and pulled away.

"Of course you can Jeff." Tali said trying to calm the boy "What is wrong?" Tali was both concerned and puzzled.

"Not here." The boy added quickly looking only at his mother. "Can we go to my room."

"Sure thing." Tali said said trying to sound cheerful but still worried. And then she stood up and took the boy by the hand and walked up the stairs. Brynn didn't say anything instead she got up and went to the nearest bathroom and locked the door behind her. Now one had noticed her planting a small listening device on the Quarian boy's suit when she touched his shoulder. She opened a program on her Omni-Tool and began to listen.

Up in Jeff's room the boy and his mother sat on his bed,the boy didn't seem to know where to begin and he wasn't looking at his mother. Finally Tali hugged him and said in a comforting tone. "Whatever it is Jeff it's okay just tell me what has you so worried."

"Well it's about something Krowdon told me." Jeff said still not looking at Tali. Tali just nodded her head and waited for Jeff to continue. Now she thought she could guess what this was about. Jacob had told her about the bombing case and that Krowdon was a witness. "Well." The boy continued. "I don't think you are going to like this and I don't think you will believe me but.." and with that he burst into tears. Tali hugged the boy and looked down at him. "Whatever it is I will believe you." Tali said.

"Krowdon said that he knows who sent the bomb and killed the Drell girl" Jeff said between sobs.

"Well who was it?" Tali asked urgently. "We need to know." she pressed when the boy didn't answer right away.

"It's ." The boy blurted out and then burst into tears again.

"What?!" Tali exclaimed her voice a mixture of shock and disbelief. "I am sure there must be some mistake,she is and Jacob are old friends."

"See I said you wouldn't believe me." The boy said now clearly both upset and scared.

"No it's not that I don't believe you." Tali said taking the boy in another hug to try and calm him. "It's just I am sure this can be explained." It was then that she felt the small bug on her son's shoulder. Reacting quickly she used her Omni-tool to fry the bug.

"Ouch!" The boy yelled.

"Sorry" Tali said now ashamed that she had not believed her son at first. "There was a listening device on you,Brynn must have put it there and I had to shut it down."

"So you believe me?" The boy asked looking up.

"Yes I do and you did a good job,I am proud of you son." Tali said looking into the glowing orbs that were his eyes behind his mask. She then called for the guard who was standing outside the door when the older human entered Tali spoke quickly and commandingly.

"Officer Smith please tell all guards to detain she is a security risk and get Executor Taylor up here right away." The middle aged human female paused for a minute so Tali added "Now!" With that the human got on her radio but it was too late.

A few minutes before making the excuse that she needed to get some stuff from home to her husband Brynn Taylor had left the house and gotten into a taxi. "To the space port." She told the driver.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

In the C-SEC outpost Captain Sola had just finished hearing Krowdon tell the exact same story. At first he didn't believe the boy but he had become a good judge of when people were telling him the truth and he could tell that the boy believed it. If this was true then it could mean the Executor was involved. He called in two C-SEC officer he knew he could trust. One was a young Asari name Mel and the other was an old scared Krogan warrior now turned officer of the law Delra Drendol. He ordered them to take the boy and his mother home,give the family ten minutes to pack and then check them into a hotel room under assumed names and keep them under 24 hour guard. Once the four had left the office Sola turned to the computer.

"Computer give the the location of Taylor." He said urgently. Now he was glad Salarians could talk so fast.

" is in docking bay E14 and boarding the human shuttle with the registry number DS-4274"

"Lock her out!" Sola commanded. The computer responded with an error signal.

"I can not comply,the security code used to unlock the shuttle is that of Executor Taylor. You can not override it." The computer calmly explained.

"Shit!" Sola said he then opened a com link to the Citadel fleet. "This is Captain Sola of C-SEC. The departing earth shuttle DS-4274 has a fugitive in it that must be stopped at all costs. Do not let that shuttle get to Earth or the Sol Relay,understood?!"

"This is the Destiny Ascension,we will stop that shuttle." The voice of an Asari said over the com.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Back in the Shepard home Jacob Taylor was hopping mad. He was pacing back and forth and just barely keeping his voice below a yell.

"I can't believe you think something like that about Brynn!" He said turning to face Tali his face bright red. "She is my wife,the mother of my children,and one of your best friends! She put her life on the line when she left Cerberus,she saved all those families! Why would you take the word of a Vorcha over hers?! Some friend you are!"

A part of Tali could understand how Jacob felt,but that part was over ridding but the part that was angry about everything that happened and having her son's word questioned. She took two steps forward and got in Jacobs face. "Then explain the bug I found on Jeff?!" She demanded.

"That could have been put there at any time or by anyone!" Jacob spat back.

"She left just a minute after Jeff told me about her!" Tali responded now almost as mad as Jacob. "Face it your wife is a traitor and that Bitch murdered Liara!"

That was it Jacob's anger got the better of him and he raised his hand to hit Tali,the Quarian Suitrat who dared accuse his wife of these things. Two C-SEC guards who had been standing on the sideline unsure what to do now jumped in and stopped him. They grabbed his arms and began pulling him out of the living room. Just then Jacob's Omni-Tool beeped and Sola's image appeared.

"Excutore Taylor."He said showing alarm and concern. "Did you give your wife permission to use your security code to take an Earth shuttle?" the Salarian asked.

Jacob shook him self free of the guards and then looked at his Omni-Tool with a mixture of disbelief and anger. "What? No! She doesn't even know my security code!" He was still angry but now the truth was beginning to sink in.

"Well" The Salarian said. "She just used it to take a shuttle,i have ordered the Citadel fleet to stop her."

Jacob couldn't reply,the anger left his face and was replaced by nothing. He was too shocked to show any emotion as his back hit the wall and he sank to the floor. He felt like he had just been hit by a charging Krogan. He was looking down at the floor unable to same a word. Finally he spoke and in a lifeless voice he said "Let me know when they have her I want to question her myself."

A few moments latter Sola reported to Jacob over the Omni-tool. "Sir the fleet reports that the shuttle has vanished."

"What you you mean vanished?!" Jacob asked showing a little anger in his voice but not being able to stand up or raise his eyes from the floor. "Did it use a cloak or something?"

"I don't know." The Salarian answered clearly confused. "the fleet had it surrounded and then it just vanished."

"Alright." Jacob said brokenly still not moving. "Put out an alert for both the shuttle and her across Citadel space."

"Yes sir." The Salarian answered and then Jacob shut off his Omni-Tool. For a tense minute he didn't say anything then under his breath he said "How will I tell the kids." and then he finally started to cry.

Tali moved towards Jacob. The guards tried to stop her but she pushed her way past them and sat down on the floor next to her old friend. She put an arm around him,she didn't know what to say. All Jacob could to was look at the floor and keep saying "I am sorry Tali." over and over again under his breath. Jacob Taylor was a broken man.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxXXX 

Shepard has finally gone back to sleep when his com unit beeped. He let out a disgusted grown as he got up and made his way to the com unit not even bothering to turn on the lights or put on a shirt. He perked up when he say his wife on the screen.

"So sexy" He said playfully and with a smug grin on his face. "I see you couldn't go twelve hours with out seeing my ugly mug."

"John please sit down I have something to tell you." Tali said grimly. Shepard obeyed he may not be able to see his wife's face behind the mask but he could tell she was very upset. Tali then went on to explain to a shocked Shepard what had happened that night. Shepard stayed silent for a minute and then he finally spoke. "How is Jacob handling it?" He asked his voice full of concern.

"Not well." Tali Answered with a sigh. "He took his kids and went home."

Shepard's face was overcome with a look of sadness,he wished there was something he could do for his friend. Even shocked and sad Shepard didn't stop thinking about the bigger picture and the next thing he said was not personal at all. "Well at least some good came out of this, we now know who is really behind this whole mess." he said flatly.

"We do?" His wife asked. It wasn't that she had not worked out the answer it was just that she didn't want to say it out loud. It was as if part of her believed if it wasn't said it would not be true.

"Yes we do." Shepard said in a firm voice. "It's Cerberus,Brynn must have been a sleeper agent this whole time."

**Well that is chapter 12. Sorry it took so long but I really didn't want to do this one with out getting into the characters heads first. I promise you will get the next chapter in less then a week. The next one will be kind of talky because plans will be worked out and getting made for the rest of the story,then it will be on to action.**

**As always thank you for your time,I hope you enjoyed this chapter,and please leave a review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The first thing John Shepard noticed upon entering his family's home was how quiet it was. There was no laughter,no sound of children happily playing,and no one was talking. Tali and he had always worked hard to make their home a happy place free from the troubles of the galaxy but it seemed recent events had taken a toll here too.

It was early morning and Shepard had a long day ahead of him. He put his footlocker down by the door. He was not in the military any more but a life time of service had put him in the habit of packing everything he needed in a footlocker when he traveled. He made his way to the kitchen and poured himself a mug of coffee,he had a feeling he was going to need it today. He didn't really feel like eating but he knew he should before heading into the day and it's troubles so he made himself a plate of scrapple with two pieces of toast and then headed into the living room to eat. He intended to sit down in one of the chairs that was in front of the big fish tank that took up most of one of the walls. Watching fish swim about had always helped sooth him.

Fish keeping had never been something that interested John as a kid,it had always been his younger sister Herriot's hobby. She also kept and took care of every other animal their parents let her bring into the house or onto their farm in the hill of the Mindbar colony. After the Batarian slavers came and killed his family and destroyed the farm the counselor who was assigned to him at the hospital told him he needed a hobby to distract him from thinking about what had happened. He choose taking care of his sister's fish. Slowly he had learned the calming effect watching them swim about could have on him. He wasn't about to take them with him when he was on tour but he had always kept a fish tank no matter how small wherever he called home. He didn't know how The Illusive Man had found out about his hobby but when he had built his own version of the Normady he had put a large fish tank in Shepard's quarters. It helped keep Shepard sane on that stressful mission where he was not sure who he could trust. The mission had the added stress of being very personal to Shepard since it was human colonies like the one he grew up on that were under attack by the collectors and he was glad for the distraction. He was happy to see the Alliance had not ripped the tank out when they refit the former Cerberus ship. When he had used the ship as the base for striking back at the Reapers after Earth had been attacked again watching the fish swim back and forth carelessly had helped keep him sane and caring for them had given him a break from thinking about all the lives that were on the line. Shepard hoped Herriot was looking down at him from heaven and knew how much her little childish hobby had helped him.

When Shepard got to the living room he found Tali sitting in the right side chair that looked at the fish tank. His wife was staring intently at the fish. He sat down in the left side chair and put his coffee and plate of food down on the small table beside it. He then reached over and touched Tali's arm.

"Hey,aren't I even going to get a welcome home?" He said softly half joking. Tali turned and looked at him,even with the mask on he could tell yes had not slept last night.

"Hey,sorry." She said flatly,the exhaustion and sorrow showing in her voice. "I'm sorry John I was just thinking about everything. About how one of my best friends murdered the other,and how she left another of my friends heart broken,I don't know how Jacob is going to go on."

"I know" Shepard said sadly. "It's hard to believe she was a sleeper agent all this time. I don't even want tom think about how he is going to explain this to John and Susan."

"I just still can't believe this has happened." Tali added,she would cry but she had cried herself out last night. She had managed to stay strong for Jacob to try and tell him that it was not his fault but she didn't think he believed her. Once Jacob had left she had broken down.

"I know it is awful." Shepard said in a comforting tone taking her hands in his and looking into the glowing orbs that were her eyes. "But now we have to work to make sure she is not able to harm anyone else. I am not sure what she is planning but I am sure it involves bringing back Cerberus and breaking the Counsel."

"I know." Tali said showing her old fire that kept her going in the worst of times again. Too many people had died to bring the galaxy to a place where every race could have a voice,even her own. Her husband had helped make that happen and a lot of people had died make his and her dream come true. She would not let them down,she now turned her sorrow into grim determination. She would not let some Cerberus bitch destroy everything that had been built since the Reaper War,all those who died including Liara deserved no less. It was her duty and one thing she and her husband had in common was that they had never failed in their duty no matter how hard it was. She would not let this be the first time they failed. She would stand by her husband and they would face this storm the way they had so many others and they would over come it. She looked up at him with fire in her eyes and said with a firm voice "Let's get these Bastards!"

"That's my girl!" Shepard said with a weak smile and he took her head into his hands and gently kiss her visor as if he was planting a kiss on her forehead. "I have called a meeting in my office in about an hour and a half. Everyone important to solving this is going to be there." He said in a matter of fact tone turning away and taking a sip of his coffee. "I want you to be there because you know more about Object Alpha then anyone else."

"Okay I will be there." Tali said,now that she had decided to protect what they had built and get justice for Liara nothing could keep her away. Tali was now sustained by the same determination that hand driven her on her Pilgrimage and thought out the Reaper War,nothing was going to be able to stop her. She looked over at Shepard who was taking a bite out of a piece of scrapple. "I don't know how you can eat that stuff." She said.

"It's good." Came Shepard's simple reply after he had finished chewing.

"How can the parts of an animal that were not good enough to make it into other meats be any good?" She asked some what playfully.

"I don't pretend to know why or how it is good I just know that it is good." Shepard said and returned to eating his breakfast and watching the fish. Once he had finished he was a bout to get up when Tali spoke. "I think before we go you should have a talk with Jeff."

"Why? Is he okay." Shepard asked concerned. He was feeling a little guilty that while thinking about all the galaxy's problems and how he was going to deal with them he had forgotten about his family and how the problems may be effecting them.

"I don't know." came Tali's cautious reply. "He was pretty shaken up last night and he hasn't talked to me since and I don't think he slept any better then we did last night. I am worried." She explained.

"Okay." Shepard said standing up. "I'll go try to calm him down. I just hope I can find the right words he has been through a lot." He added with a sad smile. He then walked up the stairs to their youngest son's room. When he got to the room he opened the door and walked in. His heart broke as he saw his son just laying on the bed starring up,he didn't even react to his bedroom door opening. Shepard knew this kid should not be having to deal with these problems and he was angry with himself for failing to protect his son but he didn't let it show. He had to stay strong so he could fix this. He walked over to the bed and sat down beside his son,still no reaction.

"So I heard you had some excitement while I was gone." Shepard said trying to keep things light.

"Yeah." the boy said flatly still not looking at his father. "What so I guess mom told you that I was a coward and I cost her a friend and John and Susan their mother."

Shepard was shocked,he didn't know where the boy got these ideas but he knew he had to put them right. He put his hand on the boy's shoulder and made the boy look at him. "Your mother didn't say anything like that." He began with a comforting tone and when that didn't seem to work he became more firm. "She said you were a hero and may have saved her life."

"I am not a hero." The boy said and Shepard could tell he was fighting to hold back the tears in front of him. "I didn't tell mom right away and she could have been hurt,because I was too scarred. I'm a coward."

"Listen to me." Shepard said firmly. "You are not a coward and you did the right thing." His words didn't seem to be working. He didn't know what to do and then He had an idea. He took the boy's hand in his and got them both off of the bed. "Come with me." He said calmly. "I want to show you something." He then let the reluctant Jeff out of the bedroom.

Shepard led his son into his study and turned on the lights,he then let him to the wall behind his desk where in a glass display case a large number of metals were on display. Shepard opened the case and point to them and looked down at his son. "Do you know what these are?" Shepard asked his son.

"Yes" Jeff answered meekly but finally looking up at his father. "They are the metals you got for being a hero in the war."

"That is right." Shepard said taking one of the metals out of the case and holding it in his hand. "These are only given to the bravest heroes,people who have done something special to earn them."

"Yeah." Jeff said looking down at the floor. "But I don't have the courage to be a real hero."

"You think so?" Shepard said. "Look at this metal." He said holding it out for the boy to see. "This is called The Star of Terra. I was given it because in one battle on my own I held off an enemy platoon so that others could escape. Would you say that was brave?" Shepard asked looking down at the boy.

"Sure" Jeff answered. "But you always have enough courage to do what is right."

"Oh you think so?" Shepard asked and he didn't wait for a reply. 'Because I wasn't thinking when I did that. I only did it because I was trying to get out alive and the whole time I was scarred to death. In fact for weeks afterwords I had nightmares about it."

"Really?!" The boy said in awe and then asked. "Then how did you do it I mean if you didn't have courage then how did you become a hero?"

'But I did have courage." Shepard answered. "I didn't think I did at the time but everyone else saw that I did."

"I don't get it." The boy said puzzled.

"You see." Shepard said bending down and looking the boy in what he could see of his face through the visor. "Courage isn't a matter of not being frightened."

'If it isn't then what is it." The boy asked looking Shepard in the face for the first time that day.

"It's being frightened but doing the right thing any way. Every hero who ever lived was scared but they did what they did any way. Do you understand?" Shepard asked.

"I think so." Jeff replied.

"Good." Said Shepard looking Jeff in the eyes. "Because Jeff Shepard Vas Rannoch for your service to the Citadel Counsel in exposing an enemy agent,the courage that took,and all the lives you saved but doing it I award you this metal." Shepard then pinned the metal to the chest of his son's suit and gave him a salute. Jeff didn't know what to say,so he just returned the salute in his own clumsy way. "Now." Said Shepard. "Hold your head high and be proud of what you did like all heroes." "Yes sir." Jeff replied and walked out of the room.

Tali sat in the living room she was not sure what her husband had done but Jeff came running out of the office and she could tell he was happy. He didn't stop to talk to her and instead ran up to his room to show his metal to his brother and sister. Tali smiled to herself,John was a good father and she was glad that she had met him all those years ago after being shot. Trust him to put things right. He was always able to lift her spirits and he seemed to be able to do the same for their kids. Finally John came out and walked over to her.

"What did you do?" Tali asked talking him in a hug.

"I'll tell you on the way to my office in the Citadel Tower." Shepard replied. "We need to get going or we will be late."

"Okay." Tali said pulling Shepard closer. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"Many times." Shepard answered with a wide smile. "But I think my ego could take it one more time."

"Well I love you." Tali said looking into his eyes and wishing more then anything that she could kiss him right now. "You make me so happy and you are a good father."

"Why miss Shepard." John said playfully. "It sounds like you are getting a crush on me,does your husband know about his?"

"I don't care." Tali said with a giggle. "You are such a great handsome guy I can't help falling for you." With that hand in hand and with four C-SEC guards around them Tali and Shepard walked out the door and despite all the problems they had in the past and all the problems to come they were sure at that moment they would be alright because they had each other and together they could handle anything.

**Well that is chapter 13. I am sorry the plot didn't advance at all but I got caught up dealing with the fall out from the last chapter in the Shepard household and the next chapter is pretty long and takes place somewhere else so it didn't feel right to tack it onto the end of this chapter. I promise that in the next chapter not only will the plot move forward but the over all plot will become much more clear and then we will move on to some action. As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter,thanks for reading,and please leave a review.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Shepard had the chairs in his Citadel Tower office arranged in a circle in front of his desk. Each chair had a small desk in front of it with a computer terminal sitting on each desk. The chair Shepard sat in was part of the circle and not the larger chair behind his desk he normally sat at,still the chair gave him a view of the door to his office so he could see people when they entered. Tali sat on his right hand,she was the only person to whom he had revealed his whole plans for today in advance. He knew some people would think what he was planning was a bad idea,but then everything that he had ever done had seemed like a bad idea at the time. He was sure he was making the right move.

Shepard greeted each person as Kelly let them into his office. None of them looked too good but Jacob looked the worst and Shepard's heart broke for him. He could not imagine what his old friend was going through. Shepard had no idea how he would react if Tali had turned out to be a sleeper agent for the enemy and what is more like Shepard Jacob Taylor had children to think about. Shepard had never seen Jacob like this. His hair(which he had let grow out after meeting Brynn because she liked it that way)was wild and unkempt,the clothes he was in were likely the same ones he had worn last night,and he had not shaved. For a man who had always kept himself in top military style shape it was bad,he didn't even look up at Shepard when he tried to great him at the door instead he just walked to his seat and sat down without saying a word or looking up. Shepard decided that he had to talk to Jacob after the meeting was over.

At first it was not surprising who Shepard had asked to come. There was Miranda Lawson,the director of the SSID. There was Ashley Williams who was in charge of the SPECTRE's Military Division and along with director Lawson joint head of the SPECTREs over all. The only person who could override them when they were agreed on something was Shepard,or if he was not around a full vote of the counsel. The two woman often clashed,but Shepard liked having opposing views on his cabinet the same as he had when he was commanding the Normandy. He didn't like to admit it but he had become good at bringing people with opposing views together for a common good. Shepard didn't like to admit it but commanding the Normandy in the war had taught him how to be a politician and he was good at it. Then of course there was Jacob Taylor who was the Executor in charge of all C-SEC security on the Citadel. So far there had been no surprises,all of these people had been part of Shepard's crew in the past and all of them worked for him now. That is when Counselor Grunt entered,that got people's attention. He had been a member of Shepard's crew back in the day but he did not work for Shepard now and he was on the Citadel to represent the Krogan and not the galaxy overall. He didn't say a word and just took the larger then normal seat Shepard had installed just for him. Then Counselor Jackson of Humanity entered.

Counselor Paul Jackson didn't look like a hero but many people viewed him as one. He was short at only about five feet three inches tall,he was at least thirty pounds overweight,and he was almost completely bald. His beard which had been a firey red when he was younger was now turning white. Still he had come out of the Reaper war a hero and Shepard had learned to trust him over the years and even saw him as a friend. When the war started Jackson had just been your average minor mining minerals and metals on the human colony world world of Columbus. The world was rich in both and it seemed every race had mined it at some point going deeper and deeper into the planet. A few members of each race seemed to stay behind when their races left in order to trade. When the Reapers hit all leadership of the world had been lost. Somehow the short middle aged man who had never gotten closer to military service when reading histories of all the great generals in Human history had brought people together and turned them into a fighting force. As time went on he was seen as the leader for the whole planet and despite being completely cut off from all help managed to get everyone working together. He had even gotten the Batarians to work with them. Using the deep tunnels and tactics he had learned from books Jackson not only used his fighting force to fight the Reapers but had kept them in check and away from the colony's non combatants like children and those too old or hurt to fight. Once he had taken over there had been no major loss of life in this group. After the war he had been seen as a big hero and he wanted to do something more then just go back to a normal life. When Prime Minister Hackett had asked him if he wanted to be the Human race's Counselor on the new expanded Citadel Counsel he jumped at the chance. He had worked with most of these races before and this was a chance to make sure the nightmare he had lived through and still had bad dreams about almost every night was about more then just survival. Given their similar backgrounds it was no surprise that he had quickly struck up a friendship with President Shepard. If Shepard needed to have a drink with someone after a hard session with the Counsel chances are it would be with Paul Jackson. Not only did they both come from colonies that had been attacked but they both hated politics and had to learn the job under fire. Still despite their friendship they didn't always see eye to eye on the counsel and he didn't work for Shepard so it was a surprise he had been invited.

Then there was Fleet Commander Kieler Vornas. He was young for a Turian of his rank but the Turians had lost so many of their top commanders in the war that seeing young officers in higher positions then they would have had before the war had become the new norm. Now that the Asari had withdrawn all of their ships save for the Destiny Ascension and then only after Shepard had argued that the Counsel flagship was part of the Counsel fleet and not the Asari's fleet he had become the top commander of all Counsel space forces. Like the rest he had seen hard fighting in the Reaper War and he had the scars and the nightmares to prove it. He may have been young but he knew his job.

The were all seated now with Miranda Lawson on Shepard's left and Tali on Shepard's right.

"It looks like we are still waiting on one person." Miranda said motioning to the single empty chair that sat directly across from Shepard.

"Yes" Shepard replied. "There is one more person coming,I got a message from her last night saying that she had arrived at the Citadel and I asked her to come because I believe what she has to say is important. " Shepard explained. Just then Shepard's Omni-Tool beeped and when he answered it the voice of Kelly Chambers could be heard.

"Excuse me sir,but she is here." Kelly reported simply.

"Let her in then." Shepard said and then switched off the com unit on his Omni-Tool. A few seconds latter Samara entered the office. This shocked pretty much everyone. The Asari Justicar didn't work for Shepard and she wasn't even loyal to any government. Yes she had been part of Shepard's old crew but she had always been clear that she was loyal to her code first and would do anything required to live by it. The fact that Shepard had invited her to such a high level meeting made Ashley wonder if maybe he old skipper was being a little too trusting. After all he had already been fooled once by Brynn Taylor.

"It is agreeable to see you again Shepard." Samara said talking her seat. "I wish the circumstances were better." She spoke plainly and didn't betray any real emotions.

"It's good to see you too Samara." Shepard said with a half smile. "Some time you will have to visit when the Galaxy isn't in danger." It was meant to be a joke but the old Asari did not pick up on the humor.

"I am sorry." She said. "Rebuilding my order has kept me busy since the war and only an emergency like this could compel me to leave my duties. Anything else would violate the code."

Shepard decided not to correct Samara and instead stood up. He decided that before they got down to business he needed to inspire these people and raise there spirits after all the personal defeats they had suffered lately. He had been going over what he was going to say in his head and while it did seem a little silly to him it was the best he could come up with on such sort notice,Shepard hoped how he said it would make up for anything that was wrong about what he said.

"In the legends of my people there is the story of the great King Arthur." Shepard began in the same firm,confident,and commanding voice he had used to inspire these some people to fight the Reapers. Shepard hoped the same trick would work twice. "He formed the round table. It was a group made up of his most trusted knights to battle the evil that threatened his kingdom." Shepard explained. "At this table everyone was equal and could say what was on their minds. There were no secrets kept from the members of this group and while I must tell you that nothing that is said in this room can go beyond these walls I want you to be my round table." Shepard then began looking at each of the people in the room one at a time. "I know it is a lot to ask and some of you have lost a lot to this cause but we didn't fight the war just to survive,we fought the war to build something better and thanks to you we have to done that. Remember everyone who died,I don't think any of them wanted things to go on the way they had,if that was their goal none of us would have left Cerberus. It is our duty to those who died to see this fight through to the end. I intend to do just that,if it is too much to ask for some of you then you need to leave now. I will not think any less of you and you will still be my friends but what is going to be said in this room is only for people who will fight to the end to hear." Shepard then paused for a minute giving everyone a chance to leave. He half expected Jacob to leave,after all how could he ask any more of him but even Jacob stayed in his seat but he still wasn't looking up at the other people in the room.

"Right." Shepard said relieved that he was not going to have to do this alone. "Now Tali has swept the room for bugs and I must inform you that nothing said in this room can leave it. You are my most trusted friends but I don't care how much you trust someone else you can not mention anything that happens in this room to them." Shepard saw Jacob winch at this. Shepard had not intended to single the dark skinned human out and he was sorry he had done so,still Shepard decided he had to press on. "We know that there is a threat and that it looks like the plan is to break apart the Counsel. I will not let that happen,the new Counsel is the key to not repeating the mistakes of the past. I was told by the Prothean A.I that the reason we were able to defeat the Reapers is because all the races worked together. I will not let that end." Everyone could see the fire in Shepard's eyes as he made this pronouncement. "What some of you don't know is that it looks like Cerberus may be at the very least involved and I believe they are behind this whole thing. I believe they are using the Batarians and others to break up the Counsel and start wars. I believe their ultimate goal is to break up the Counsel,take over humanity,and put Humans in a position to dominate all other races." This got a series of shocked looks from everyone but Miranda Lawson.

"But how could they do that?" Jacob asked finally speaking up. "That would take a lot of planning and money and we destroyed Cerberus at the end of the war." Shepard could tell Jacob was hurting and grasping at straws to avoid having to face the truth,Shepard wished there was some way he could spare his feelings. It was then that Miranda spoke up in her usual calm voice that she used when explaining things to people. She had always been good at figuring out puzzles like this and she didn't soft peddle what she had concluded for Jacob,that was not the way she did things. In Miranda's mind you were either strong enough to handle the truth or you had no business working in this type of situation.

"The Illusive Man always said Cerberus was an ideal and ideals can't be destroyed. Miranda explained coldly. "He was always thinking many moves ahead of everyone else and trying to prepare for anything that could happen. If he saw what we have done as a possibility no matter how remote he thought it was he would have planned for it."

"And what about you?" Jacob said glaring at Miranda. "Did you help him make these plan and then not tell me?! This wouldn't be the first time you kept a secret from me."

Shepard was about to jump in but Miranda beat him to it and replied without emotion in her voice but Shepard could tell she was a little hurt to hear these angry words from a former lover and teammate. "No,I knew nothing of this plan. I guess The Illusive Man trusted Brynn more then he trusted me and events proved him right to do so."

"Then how do you know what is going on and how did Brynn get back with Cerberus?" Jacob demanded. "When I met her she was risking her life to escape."

"That is easy." Miranda said firmly and everyone could tell she was getting angry now. "I know how the Illusive Man thought and it is what I would have done if I had seen this coming back when I worked for Cerberus. As for How Brynn rejoined that is easy,she never left."

"What?,No!" Jacob shouted,but in his mind he knew what Miranda was about to say was true,he just needed to hear it out loud before he could believe and accept it.

"Think about it,Jacob." Miranda said firmly but now showing some pity in her eyes. She had thought she loved him once before she discovered that she was unable to love or have children. After that relationships had seemed pointless and since then she had found purpose by focusing on her work and helping make Humanity and the Galaxy a better place. Still because of the feelings she once thought she had for him she didn't like seeing him broken like this. "Cerberus personal start defecting and they are very good at covering their tracks. Brynn joins them and shortly after she takes charge in the middle of the war Cerberus just happens to find your group and is ready to recapture them before Shepard and his team showed up. She was a plant from the beginning."

"But then how did she get involved in this plan?" Jacob asked as he sadly returned to his seat. Everything he heard was breaking him but he could not deny that it made sense.

"Once you got involved given Shepard's loyalty to his crew The Illusive Man had to know there was a chance Shepard would launch a rescue and that Shepard would get them out. He also had to know that after this Brynn would be trusted by all of us so he contacted her and used her as part of the set up for a long term plan to make sure Cerberus and it's ideals won out even if he was killed and it looked hopeless for Cerberus. He must have hidden funds and agents for her to use all over the galaxy. She was always just waiting for a chance to put the plan into action." Then Miranda got a look of pity in her eyes and her tone softened. "I am so sorry Jacob." Jacob Taylor just put his head in his hands and didn't say another word. It was quiet for a minute or two and then softly and carefully tali jumped in.

"All this this seems to point to the fact that Cerberus knew about Object Alpha then we did." She said.

Shepard nodded his agreement. "That doesn't surprise me." he said. "They have always seemed to know more about the Citadel,Reapers,and Collectors then the rest of us did. That mystery still needs to be solved."

"Hopefully when we catch she will have data on her explaining what the object is and how Cerberus has been controlling it." Miranda said. Jacob winched again at hearing Brynn called by his family name. It reminded him of how well she had fooled him and that if he had not let his heart do his thinking for him Liara would still be alive. Jacob didn't see how anyone could trust him after he had screwed up so badly.

"Just a second." Counselor Jackson interjected. "What is Object Alpha." Tali didn't wait for permission for John to speak,she knew he meant it when he had said no secrets in this room. She went on to tell everyone what they knew about Object Alpha and that Liara had not died in a transport crash but had instead been murdered by Brynn and they still were not sure why. This took some time and by the end of her tale Grunt was looking restless. Before any more questions could be asked about Object Alpha or Brynn he spoke up.

"All of this is very interesting." Grunt said in his normal gruff voice and for some reason Shepard didn't believe he really found this all that interesting. "But what I and I think most of us came here to find out is why did you take such a sudden trip to Tuchanka." He fixed his gaze on Shepard before adding. "I don't think any of us buys the idea that it was a good will visit,and the media doesn't seem to be buying that story either." he left out the fact that he knew for sure it was not a goodwill visit and that Shepard had been invited.

"You are right,it was not a goodwill visit." Shepard said with a sad sigh. He was not looking forward to giving Grunt the bad news but they were on the clock and he knew he needed to be honest with his Krogan former shipmate. "I went there because Wrex asked me to,he needed to talk about something he didn't trust anyone else with and warn me about something."

"Well what was it?" Grunt pressed.

Shepard took a deep breath and looked the Krogan right in the eyes before saying the next words. "A new version of the Genophage has been deployed on the Krogan colony of Rothla and Wrex is afraid that if word gets out he will be overthrown and the Krogan will go to war." Everyone in the room looked shocked including Grunt but soon his shock was turned to anger and he stood up and got in Shepard's face towering over the sitting Human.

"You are damn right we will go to war!" The Krogan yelled. "We will wipe out the Salarians and anyone who tries to help them,this proves they can't be trusted!"

"Grunt please sit down." Shepard said trying to remain calm. At the moment everyone else was too shocked to say or do anything. "Grunt you can't go to war." Shepard explained. "it would split the Counsel and you would be wiped out."

"Like I give a fuck about your Counsel now!" Grunt countered still yelling. "Your Counsel told me all the Genophage research had been destroyed and that it could not be brought back. You may be my Battlemaster Shepard and I may have to do what you say but you can't expect me to sit back and do nothing while the Krogan are destroyed!" He then turned his anger to Miranda. "Where were you when this happened?!" He demanded. "How did this slip past you,you are not the type to make mistakes. Are you working with the Salarians Cerberus Bitch?!"

"I oversaw the destruction of everything related to the Genophage." Miranda said standing up and as she did so her body was surrounded by the blue glow of biotic energy. "And while I have heard rumors about something like this Wrex did a good job keeping a lid on it and your people tend to claim any troubled birth is the result of a new version of the Genophage. Trust me if I wanted the Krogan dead they would be dead by now!" The Human woman and the Krogan male glared at each other,each one daring the other to make the first move. It was then that Shepard spoke up in a loud commanding voice.

"Enough! Fighting each other is just what our enemies want and why they are doing this." Miranda and Grunt each took a step back from each other but neither seemed ready to be the first to back all the way down,it was at this point that Ashley Williams stepped between them. "The Skipper ordered you to sit down!" She said firmly. "If you don't do that right away knock you both out." The threat was futile but it did the trick. "Fine." Grunt said returning to his seat and then he looked back at Shepard. "You had better deal with this quickly." "Don't worry I am forming a plan." Shepard said keeping his calm. He knew this meeting would be hard but he didn't like seeing his friends and old shipmates fighting like this,still the moment had passed and it was time for him to take control of the room again.

"I don't believe the Salarians are behind this." Shepard explained calmly.

"Then who else could it be?" Grunt demanded. Grunt may have calmed down but he was still angry.

"I think it's the Hanar and they are working with the Batarians." Shepard said. He gave everyone a minute to let this sink in. "If you will take a look at your screens you will see why I think this." The holo screens on the computers came to life and they showed pictures and info on the Salarian ship that's crash seemed to have been used to deploy the new version of the Genophage along with star charts and other information including spreadsheets with a large amount of financial data. Miranda then took center stage,she walked to the center of the circle the chairs created and started to explain. To Shepard's surprise Grunt sat still and listened,he was still fixing Miranda with a death glare that she was ignoring but at least Shepard was not having to break up another fight.

"If you will look here." Miranda began drawing everyone's attention to one of the spreadsheets. "You will see that ever since the Way of the Enkindlers party has started gaining power and talking about taking the Citadel for those who follow the Enkindlers' teachings that Hanar government spending has increased more then ten fold. You will also see that a like of scientists with backgrounds in genetics have started working on secret projects for the Hannar government. Now what you may not know is that we believe the bombing of a Drell temple here on the Citadel is related to these projects. One of the priests was visited by another Drell who gave a false name and claimed he had just escaped from a top secret Hanar government project."

"Did he say what this project was?" Grunt interrupted.

"No." Miranda answered.

"Then how do you know it has anything to do with the Genophage,The Hanar have never done anything like this before."

"If you will let me continue I will explain." Miranda answered. She had just about had it with the bad tempered Krogan. Once she was sure Grunt had finished interrupting her she continued in her normal professional manor. "The Drell did say the project would kill millions maybe even billions. The priest told him he had to make it right and the Drell agreed to bring the priest details of the project and let the priest decide what to do with him. The priest helped of get a picture of this unknown Drell from security camera footage outside the temple but so far neither the SPECTREs or C-SEC have been able to locate him and I fear will must assume he is dead. What we do know is that a few days after talking to this Drell the priest was targeted with a bomb that was sent to him by operative Brynn Taylor. This led to her cover being blown and her having to flee using means unknown."

"How does any of this prove that Cerberus and the Hanar are behind the new Genophage Grunt asked,he was clearly losing his cool again and Shepard was afraid he would have to step in again soon. Fortunately Miranda did not raise to the bait this time and just continued explaining what they had learned. "So we know whatever the Drell was going to tell the priest was about a project and millions of lives were at stake,we also know that it was dangerous enough for Cerberus' deepest cover operative to break her cover and risk being exposed as she ultimately was." Miranda looked over at Jacob to make sure he was alright. She had seen him better but he seemed to be handling this much better then he had handled anything else today. Miranda continued. "Now on it's own it would still be quite a jump to say this had anything to do with the Genophage but if you will take a lot at what we have found out about the Salarian transport that's crash was used to spread the new Genophage I think you will agree that the evidence points in that direction. The Salarian transports last stop before entering Krogan space and crashing was in Hannar space and it seems that there was a Batarian passenger got off at that stop. We now believe that the Genophage was loaded at that stop and we can't find any trace of this Batarian in Hanar space so we also believe he never left the ship. Somehow he took over the ship and sent it on a suicide mission to deploy the Genophage and start a war between the Salarians and Krogan. The timing of this outbreak is just too perfect for it not to have anything to do with the rest of our problems."

"That makes sense." Grunt said,the shock showing in his voice. "So now we go after the real villains,The Hanar!"

"I don't see how we can." For the first time Counselor Jackson spoke up,he had been sitting back listening and watching this whole time. He had a soft voice that generally brought peace to any room he spoke in.

"Why not?" Grunt demanded turning to the Human.

"Because." Jackson explained. "All we have is a theory and no real proof. The Hanar have never made an openly hostile move against any of the Counsel races so it would look like we are attacking them for no reason."

"So we just let them get away with it and wipe out my people because you don't like the way it looks?! That's not going to happen." Grunt yelled getting angry again.

"No." Miranda interjected. "We find proof. I have an operative on the Hanar home world right now and he has been ordered to find proof that they are making the Genophage that we can bring to the Counsel so we can launch military strikes against all targets related to the Genophage."

"That sounds good." Grunt said doubtfully. "But I don't think my people will wait for proof."

"That is where my plan to buy time comes in." Shepard said. "I am calling a meeting of the Counsel for two hours after this meeting is over. At that meeting I want you to bring up the issue of the new colony worlds for the Krogan again."

"What good will that do?" Grunt asked. "It will just get voted down again.

"No it will not." Shepard answered. "Just trust me and do this and you will have new support."

"Shepard you can't make that deal with Aria." Ashley said. She was pretty sure arguing with him at this point was useless but she needed to make her case because she was sure this was a giant mistake. Shepard interrupted her before she could continue. "I have no intention of making a deal with that crook." He said firmly and showing that for all the politics that went with the job he was doing now he was still the same old Commander Shepard deep down. "Trust me I will get the issue more support and then that should keep the Krogan people distracted long enough for us to get our proof so we can go to war with the right people." Ashley didn't looked convinced so Shepard turned and looked at her. "Ash if you have ever trusted me before trust me now." He said.

"I trust you skipper." Ashley finally said. "I just hope this plan works."

Shepard then turned to fleet commander Vornas. "Have all the Counsel fleets been alerted to be on the look out for the fifth fleet?"

"Yes sir." The young Turian replied. "But so far no elements of that fleet have been spotted. It would be a lot easier to find the Human fifth fleet if we could get the fleets that belong to the other races involved in the search."

Counselor Jackson cleared his throat at this. "I don't like that idea." he said carefully. "It would weaken Earth's standing with the other races and it would make it look like we can not control our own fleets."

"But you can't control them." Vornas responded pointedly.

"We have no idea what happened to the fifth fleet and I think we should hold off on alerting the whole galaxy until we have more facts,Earth's standing the galactic community is at stake."

"Exactly." Shepard said jumping in. "We have no idea what happened which is why we have to find it as soon as possible. We now know Cerberus is involved so far all we know the men and woman on those ships are working for Cerberus. What if the fleet is used to attack a Counsel member race,then there will be a war and the best we can hope for is that the other races will believe I was covering for earth and willing to risk there lives to do so." Jackson looked like he got the point but Shepard decided to make it crystal clear. "Unlike the Counselor who are appointed by their governments in any way they see fit and only represent their own race I was popularly elected by the people's of all the Counsel member races. I can't play favorites so I have to alert the other races today so that they can all be on the look out for the fifth fleet. I will do everything I can to end this peacefully but I must do what is best for all the people who are part of Counsel races." Everyone took the point. Ashley still didn't like this part of Shepard's job. Aliens always put themselves first so she believed Shepard should put the good of Humans first but it was not good getting into that fight again.

"Speaking of fleets." Ashley said turning to the Asari Justicar. "Samara,why have the Asari withdrawn their fleets and closed their borders? What do they have to do with all this?"

"Nothing directly." Samara answered in her usual calm manor.

"You really expect us to believe that the timing of all this and Aria trying to make a deal to get the SPECTREs out of Asari space has nothing to do with the rest of this mess?" Miranda asked pointedly.

"Aria is taking advantage of the great shame the Asari feel right now to make a power play,that is the only way the Asari problem and yours are related. Samara answered. She was glad the code kept her from worrying about things like politics or she would feel guilty right now for betraying her people. She lived by the code and it was clear so she felt no guilt. "I believe that she is giving others the support of the merc groups she controls and in exchange when the Asari civil war is over she will call on these people to help her take over all Asari space. She has always had a darkness and lust for power that needed to be fed and she has gone as far as she can on this path with out taking over the Asari government."

Everyone sat in silents for a few minutes letting this news sink in. The idea of an Asari civil war was the only thing that could shake the galaxy as much as the Reapers had. No one could remember the last time the Asari went to war with each other,not even the long lived Asari themselves. Finally Shepard spoke gently. "Why do you think the Asari are going to enter into a civil war?" he asked.

"Because that is the only possible out come of current events." The calm in Samara's reply shocked Shepard,her code really did keep her from worrying about things.

"What are the Asari so ashamed of that they will not ask for help?" Tali asked kindly.

"It is the greatest shame any race can feel,it is our best kept secret,and something we hoped we would never have to face." Samara began explaining. "In fact if the worst should come to pass it could lead to my people becoming a thread not just to ourselves but to every other life form in the galaxy."

"It's the Ardat-Yakshi." Shepard said grimly,it was not a question.

"Over the past three hundred years more have been born then in the rest of our history combined and because my people are so ashamed and my government does not admit they exist to outsiders we have not gotten any help and instead kept this hidden." Samara said now showing a hint of sadness and a little shame.

"Excuse me if this is a stupid question." Vornas interrupted. "But who or what are these Ardat-Yakshi?"

At first it looked like Samara would not answer but then she seemed to decide that since Shepard had trusted her with these people's secrets that she had to trust them with her's. Samara spent some time explaining the Ardat-Yakshi to the roundtable and how Shepard knew of them because he had helped her hunt down and kill her Morinth like an animal and he had helped save her youngest daughter Falere when the monastery she lived in came under Reaper attack. It took a while to tell these stories because everyone except Shepard and Tali who had been with Samara both times she needed help kept stopping her but finally after what seemed like hours an emotionally drained Samara finished the tale.

"There is one thing I don't understand." Counselor Jackson said as he sat back with his eyes closed thinking. "If these people have always been with you and most of them choose to monasteries why the sudden panic?"

"Because we have lost track of all most all of them." Samara answered,this sent a shock through the room.

"How did this happen?" Tali asked urgently.

"It's started during the Reaper war." Samara began to explain as calmly as she could. "the Asari were hard hit and many of the monasteries were destroy. After the war we tried to tack them down and any Ardat-Yakshi found outside Asari space were killed. Then about two years ago they started to vanish again and with them a large amount of military supplies and money. We don't know where they are only that they have not left Asari space so my government has now recalled the fleets and sealed the borders."

"The counsel would have helped if you had just asked." Shepard said.

"We were too ashamed." Samara answered. "We could not ask for help but I have come to get your help in a task that may stop the bloody civil war that is coming." Samara was looking at Shepard now.

"What task do you need my help with?" Shepard asked causally.

"I believe Falere my only remaining daughter is the leader of this movement."

"Why would she be leading them she seemed peaceful enough when we saw her?" Tali asked,she did not like where this conversation was heading.

"I believe her mind broke when she saw here sister die at the hands of the Reapers. She blamed all those outside because they did not help the Ardat-Yakshi,so now she wants power and revenge on those people. She wants the Ardat-Yakshi to stop hiding and kill anyone who gets in the way of them going anywhere they want in the galaxy. If she is stopped I believe there will be no war." Samara explained sadly.

"Wait are you asking what I think you are asking?" Shepard asked hoping that she was not.

"Yes Shepard the code is clear I created this problem when I spared her life so now I must deal with it."Samara answered in a tone that shocked everyone with how cold it was. "I need to hunt her down and kill her to stop the war. I can not do it alone and since you helped create the problem and you have a ship that can track her down I am asking for your help in finding and killing her."

"John you can't do this!" Tali said putting a hand on his shoulder.

Shepard looked Samara in the eyes and spoke softly. "If I do this it will have to wait a few days to give me a chance to deal with the problems here. I am not saying that I will do it but I will think about it."

"That is acceptable." Samara said flatly. "But do not wait too long,every day you wait brings us closer to civil war."

"Okay" Shepard said sitting back in his chair then he took control of the meeting again in his commanding voice. "Okay it seems to me the goals we need to work together toward are proving the Hanar created the new form of the Genophage,locating Brynn Cole and Cerberus,finding the alliance fifth fleet,and using the SPECTREs to do everything we can to disrupt the Batarians and their ability to make war. Towards that end I will be asking the Counsel to cut off all trade between Counsel words and the Batarians. I will say it is because they continue to engage in the slave trade and raid Counsel worlds. That should hold things for a while. We need to buy time to put more pieces together. We will have another meeting in two days to discuss how we can best work together towards these goals. If no one has anything else to say this meeting is dismissed." Everyone stood up and started to leave Tali gave Shepard a look that even with her mask on her could tell was sad before she left,Jacob was about to leave when Shepard asked him to stay for a few minutes. Jacob sighed and walked over to Shepard. Shepard was about to speak but Jacob beat him to the punch.

"Sir if this is about her I understand that you can't trust me any more and will have to ask me to resign but as a friend I am asking you to please believe I had no idea and I did not help her." Jacob spoke in a very formal and professional tone,it was the one he had used back on the Normandy and not the one he had used since Shepard and he had become friends.

"What?" Shepard asked clearly taken aback by what Jacob had said. "Did you really think that is why I wanted to talk to you? Look I trust you Brynn fooled as all and if you are up for it I still want you to do your job,I just wanted you to know that I understand if you are not up for it."

"Oh" was all Jacob could say for a few moments. "I am not sure what I am up for any more but I need to work this case,I need to put it right Shepard."

"It's not your fault." Shepard said trying to comfort his friend.

"The hell it isn't!" Jacob responded. "If I had just spotted one think Dr.T'soni would still be alive and Cerberus wouldn't be up to who knows what. Now if you will excuse me I need to go look through the records of ever secret file my security codes where ever used to access and try to figure out which ones I really looked at and which ones she did." With out giving Shepard a second to respond Jacob stormed out of the room leaving his friend standing there with a look of pity on his face. Jacob Taylor did not want pity,whatever he was going through was not enough punishment for how badly he had failed and now all he could to was make sure he was the one who would blow Brynn's head off. That was what would help,putting the bitch six feet under.

After Jacob left Shepard hit the com button on his Omni-Tool. "Kelly please let the Counsel know that I would like to see them in session in two hours,then get me Primarch Victus on the com,and tell the Salarian counselor that I want a private meeting with him before the session."

"Yes sir" Kelly responded. Now Shepard had a plan and he just hoped it would work. About five minutes latter Victus' face appeared on Shepard's come screen.

"What can I do for you Shepard?" He asked.

"I need a favor." Shepard said keeping his tone light. "I can't explain why over the comm I just need you to trust me and tell your Counselor that you want him to vote in favor of new Krogan colonies today."

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About twenty minutes after Shepard got off of the comm the Salarian counselor had taken a seat in front of Shepard's desk. Shepard had been weighing his options on how to handle this and he had decided going on the attack was the best option even if it involved telling a few lies,putting the counselor on the defensive and then giving him a way out would work best.

" Helo and how are you today? I trust your trip to Tuchanka was productive." The Salarian began seeming very friendly. "Can I ask what you wanted to talk about?"

"What the hell are your people doing?!" Shepard said letting the anger show on his face. The Salarian counselor leaned back in his chair and he was clearly at a loss.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Was all he could say.

"Oh really" Shepard continued not letting up on the attack. "Because I just returned from Krogan space and your people have hit them with the Genophage again!"

"What?!" The Counselor said still too stunned to put up much of a defense.

"Yes you have! That Ship you crashed on their colony has spread a new form of it that doesn't leave any babies alive. This is in direct violation of the Counsel charter and a war crime to boot. What is the matter wiping them out once wasn't enough for you now you have to exterminate the whole race?!

The Salarian counselor finally found his voice. "Whatever you have heard is a lie!" He was showing some anger of his own now. "We worked with the SPECTREs in destroying all Genophage research,there is nothing left of it,this is a Krogan lie."

"I have had tests run myself!" Shepard responded with a lie. "It is the Genophage and your people put it there. Now the Krogan want to go to war and unless you can give me some reason not to in order to keep the Counsel from being split I am going to recommend that they remain neutral and let the Krogan bring war crimes charges against your leaders when this is all over."

"I am telling you we didn't do this and if you let the Krogan engage in unrestricted war against us we will be the ones who are wiped out. Please don't let this happen." The counselor pleaded.

"Okay" Shepard said his tone softening. "If I am going to have to prove to the krogan you didn't do this and I will need your help to buy time for that to happen. You can't mention this to anyone and I will need your help latter to day in a show of goodwill towards the Krogan people."

"Whatever you need you will get." The Salarian counselor said gratefully.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At the Counsel meeting everything was coming to order when Aria walked up to Shepard with a smug smile on her face and began to whisper in Shepard's ear.

"So John do I take it we have a deal?" She asked. Shepard turned to face her with a stern look.

"Sorry I don't make deals like that with people like you. The Asari will just have to live with the Charter they signed."

Aria was angry now. "Well then I hope you are ready to deal with your pets when they turn on you." and then she went and took her seat. She would make Shepard pay for this.

Shepard began the meeting by warning the Counsel about the lost fifth fleet he and Counselor Jackson answered questions about it for a while. Then Grunt brought up the issue of new Krogan colonies again . Aria just sat back smugly as it was debated and Grunt made a motion for a vote and Counselor Jackson seconded it. At first the vote seemed to be going Aria's way but then something happened that shocked even her,the Turrians,and Salarians both voted in favor,this turned the vote completely around and in the end the Krogan had their new colonies. Aria was fuming and just wanted to leave the chamber when Shepard could up with her.

"Well Shepard." Aria said trying to create the illusion that she was still in control. "I guess you won this round,but there will be others."

"Yes I did." Shepard said simply and then he decided that he had had it with her and twisted the knife. "There is one rule on the Citadel." He said calmly echoing what Aria had said to him all those years ago when he first met her on Omega. "Don't Fuck with Shepard." he then walked off. He was pleased with himself. Yes this was a small victory but now he was moving forward and he knew who his enemies were. Now he just had to prove they were the enemies of the whole galaxy and find a way to fight them.

**Really sorry this chapter took so long to show up. The day after I posted the last chapter the phone lines at my house stopped working and I have only just got them back so I didn't have any internet and then when the power went out in the storm on monday this and two other chapters were lost on my computer so I am having to rewrite them. Again really sorry about the wait and I hope this chapter was worth it. I hope to have the other chapters rewritten and posted soon if nothing else goes wrong. As always thank you for your time,hope you enjoyed it,and please leave a review.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

It took Garrus some time to convince the Elcor authorities that he was who he said he was and that his ship that had just appeared in orbit around Dekuuna seemingly out of nowhere was not a threat to planetary security. Now that he had finally put that matter to rest the ship was safely in a standard orbit around the large planet and he turned to Kasumi to discuss what their next move should be.

Kasumi spoke first. "So that device or rock or whatever it is took us to some other place and then when it brought us back it took us to the exact planet we were trying to get to,my question is how did it know to take us here?" She asked puzzled.

"It must have some how tapped into the Victory's navigational computer and taken us to the planet we already had a course set for." Garus answered,in truth he had no idea how any of this had happened but it was the only thing that made sense. As a great Human detective once said "When you eliminate the impossible,whatever remains,however improbable,must be the truth." Kasumi couldn't help but smile a little at the fact that Garus was using the name she had come up with for his ship.

"Well it seems a shame to come all this way and not talk to ." Kasumi said lightly.

"Is that the Elcor who hired you to steal the statue?" Garrus asked.

"Yes it is a rich Elor businessman,well as rich as Elcor get. He collects rare art and that is why I didn't think anything was wrong when he hired me to steal the statue." Kasumi explained.

"He is rich" Garrus pointed out. "Didn't you think it was odd that he hired you and didn't just buy the statue?"

"He said the Batarians were refusing to sell it to him,I am not an idiot." Kasumi returned a little warmly.

"So what do you think would be the best way to approach him would be?" Garrus asked changing the subject slightly.

"I think we should shock him." Kasumi said.

"Look" Garrus said a little wearily "if you are going to suggest that we attack him in some way that is going a bit far even for me. We don't know how much he knows about all this and a SPECTRE can't just shoot anyone he wants. Well he can but it would create a big mess and we may be able to get answers some other way."

"No,I am not going to suggest that we attack him." Kasumi said in a mocking tone. "But he does have a private landing pad behind his house and I think having a SPECTRE land there would put him on the defensive and make him much more likely to answer our questions."

"For once we agree on something " Garrus said with relief. "Now where is his house?" He asked.

Kasumi began typing on the control panel in front of her. "I am setting up a Nav point now."

"I assume you have a gravity compensator" Gurras asked.

The device to which he refered was a small oblong device that clipped onto the users belt. It used Element Zero to create a field of gravity around the user the same way it was used on star ships. The up shot of this was that no matter how large or small the planet the user landed on was they could move around normally because of the pocket of gravity around them that matched their native world's. Given the size of Dakuuna and it's gravity it was needed for humanoid races to walk around on the planet with out being weighed down.

"Yes move I have one." Kasumi said pointing to the device on her belt and sounding more then a little annoyed that Garrus had even asked her that question. _Just how stupid does he think I am. _"I have been here before." She pointed out.

"Just making sure before I took us down there." Garus said defensively. "I would hate for you to get crush by the gravity."

"Oh Garrus." Kasumi said in a mock sweet tone. "That is so sweet."

"Before you give me the information I need." Garrus added quickly.

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From a strictly Human point of view Elcor architecture may have been the most alien in the galaxy outside of the Hanar. Still as they flew over the scattered cities of Dakuuna towards the country estate of Grektac Leldo Kasumi couldn't help but admire the sights that stretched out before her eyes as the ship flew over the planet. Because of the Elcor's build their buildings were much larger then other races. The didn't have multiple stories since the Elcor found waling up stairs hard. Instead the stone buildings stretched out in ever direction. They tended to be built around the land scape and the Elcor didn't tend to level things like hills or trees to make room for them. Instead Elcor buildings would hug the landscape and be built in odd shapes to make their way around trees and things of that nature. This gave the whole landscape a very peaceful feel. The buildings themselves reminded Kasumi of old Greek ruins but that hardly did they justice. At the moment she felt like she could spend the rest of the day relaxing and admiring the landscape. All too soon for her Garrus found the country house and brought the Victory in to land on the pad behind the house. Now it was time to get down to business.

"Let me do the talking." Garrus said as they walked towards the airlock.

"Are you afraid I will mess something up?" Kasumi asked a little bitterly. She didn't like the way Garrus seemed not to trust her to be able to handle herself.

"No it's not that." Garus tried to explain as they stepped out of the ship. "It's just I want to give this guy the impression that this is an offical investigation and there are more people involved then just you and me. I think that is our best chance at getting some answers."

"Okay" Kasumi replied. _She couldn't deny that what Garus said made sense but she still didn't like playing second fiddle to anyone. She had gotten used to dealing with problems on her own since Keiji's death._

Now that they were outside they each took a deep breath as they took a look at their surroundings. After so long on space stations and space ships it was nice to breath in some fresh air. The landing pad was a little ways back from the house and was connected to it by a stone path that while it was not wide by Elcor standards it was very wide by the standards of other races. There didn't seem to be anyone around so Kasumi and Garrus began walking down the path. As they reached the halve way point on the path on the path they saw an Elcor coming out of the house to meet them.

"Is that Leldo?" Garrus asked Kasumi in a whisper.

"I can't tell." Kasumi answered. "To tell you the truth all Elcor look like trunkless elephants to me."

"What?" Garrus asked but before Kasumi could answer the Elcor reached them.

"Informative warning:This is a private residence,you can not land your ship here." The Elcor said in the flat tone which all Elcor spoke in.

"I know." Garrus said taking one step ahead of Kasumi to show that he was in charge. "I need to speak to the owner of this house right away."

" does not see anyone with out an appointment." The Elcor said.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear." Garrus said taking on a more forceful tone. "My name is SPECTRE Vakarian and I am here on Counsel business." He opened up his Omni-Tool and showed the Elcor an idea file that proved he was a SPECTRE.

"Reluctantly:Very well I will take you to him ." the Elcor said and with that he turned around and led them into the house.

The Elor who they managed to find out was a personal servant named Adril showed them into a massive room at the front of the house. It seemed designed to impress visitors. The whole front of the room was nothing but very large window doors that let sunlight stream in as the primary source of light . Out of the windows they could see a huge expanse of rolling green meadows that seemed to stretch out for miles with out another building in sight. The rest of the room was unlike anything Garrus or Kasumi were used to. It was all what they would consider weird angles and very large furniture,it had clearly been built with Elcor and not humanoids in mind. Despite how open and unguarded the room looked Kasumi knew there had to be all sorts of security she just couldn't see,the room was full of art treasures. She began to look around as she and Gurras waited for their reluctant host to show himself.

"Well I guess being a SPECTRE pays off in more ways then one." Kasumi said lightly.

"What do you mean?" Asked Garus walking up behind her as she stared at an old Vorcha statue.

"Well I wasn't shown this room when I met Leldo last time." Kasuma Answered,something that was behind glass on one of the wall caught her attention and she made her way over. Garrus was puzzled,it just looked like a large piece of paper with artwork and writing on it. _It was clearly human but what purpose it could have served or how old it was he had no idea._ Still this didn't stop him from getting in a light hearted jab at the young female thief. "Well being on the right side of the law helps,you should try it some time." Kasumi didn't seem to notice his barb and instead was looking intently at the bottom of the piece of paper.

"Palavan to Kasumi!" Gurras said touching her on the shoulder. "What has got you so interested?" he asked. Quickly Kasumi turned to him showing excitement on her face.

"Do you know what this is?!" She asked pointing to the paper.

"No" Garrus answered. "Is it something important to Humans?"

"Take a look at the copyright date on the bottom!" Kasumi said excitedly,Garrus stepped closer to look at the small row of numbers at the bottom of the paper Kasumi was pointing to.

"1982?" He read off somewhat puzzled.

"That makes this poster almost three hundred years old." Kasumi explained. "It an original movie poster for Star Trek 2:The Wrath of Khan."

"Is that film important for some reason?" Garrus asked still puzzled that an old piece of paper from so long ago designed to sell tickets to a film could get her this excited.

"Well it was only an entry in one of earth's first and most popular Science fiction franchises." She said and then seeing that Garrus still didn't get what she was saying she continued to explain. "It helped shape the way humans not only thought about each other but also the idea of aliens in general long before we made contact with any aliens. The heroes of this film are still to this day some of the most popular all of human fiction."

"I see." Said Garrus beginning to understand. "So this was a case of the media changing the way people looked at an issue."

"Yes." Kasumi said still excited and Garrus couldn't explain why but he did like seeing this excited,open ,and carefree side of this thief that a few days ago he hardly knew. She went on. "Up until then aliens in films had mostly been monsters but Star trek showed a galaxy full of friendly aliens. You see that guy up there." Kasumi said pointing to a Human who seemed to suffer from some sort of birth defect,Garrus nodded. "He was an alien who was second in command of a mostly Human crew. At a time when my world was devided between nations fighting wars against each other this franchise showed a future where not only were Human united and working together but we also worked with aliens. The Hero Captain Kirk was a Human who always tried to find away to work peacefully with aliens,no matter how different they seemed. He believed that by working together all races would be stronger."

"So it inspired your people and that is why you are so excited." Garrus said with a small smile,_he had to wonder if this piece of fiction had helped inspire his friend Shepard. It seemed there was more to this young lady then met the eye._ Then the old Kasumi came bake up and the moment was gone. "Do you have any idea how much I could get for this if I could get it out of here?" She asked.

"We are here to get answered not rip this guy off." Garrus said sternly.

"There is no reason we can't do both." Kasumi responded playfully. "Besides he most likely ripped it off from someone else himself." Before Garrus could answer this they heard the unmistakable sound of a Elcor entering the room and they turned to face Leldo.

"Concerned greeting:" Leldo began. "I would be happy to see you for we were not to meet again unless you had something with you that I wanted,but why have you brought a SPECTRE with you?"

Garrus stepped forward and spoke before Kasumi could answer. "So you admit you hired this woman to steal a small Krogan statue from the Batarians?" it was more of a statement then a question.

"Cautiously:I don not believe it is any business of the SPECTREs but I did hire to obtain a piece of art for me that the Bartains would not sell. Should I have my lawyer present for these talks."

"That depends." Garrus said taking a few steps closer to the much larger alien. "What can you tell me about this." He then pulled the OSD that had been in his pocket out and held it in the Elcor's face. Kasumi was impressed,_Garrus must have taken it from her while she was engrossed with the movie poster,she would have to keep a closer eye on him from now on._ Kasumi then stepped forward and spoke. "For some reason everyone seems to be trying to kill me since I stole that statue and I found that OSD inside it. I can't crack the security on it. You have to have know about it because there were lots of Krogan statues but you insisted that I steal this one. A good friend of mine was murder just for trying to help me find out what was on this thing,you had better give me some answers!" Kasumi was yelling now.

Leldo took one step back from them before he spoke next. "Startled:Nothing like that was supposed to happen,I was hoping this could be taken care of with out anyone else getting hurt."

"You were hoping what could get taken care of?" Garrus pressed.

"Reluctantly:it is a long story." The Elcor said.

"We have plenty of time." Both Garrus and Kasumi said almost in sync.

"Resignation:Very well." Leldo began. "From time to time in the past I have done business with a Batarian name Jugan. About four months ago he came to me and said he heard rumors about something his people were involved in that could not only pose a danger to the Counsel and the Galaxy but also lead to the end of the Batarian race."

"Did he say what these rumors were?" Garrus asked.

"Explaining:no he did not." Leldo continued. "He said he did not want to risk turning the galaxy against his people with out proof and since some agents of whatever it was he feared had tried to recruit him we came up with a plan."

"What was the plan?" Kasumi pressed.

"Continuing explanation:He would pretend to join them and find out what was going on." The Elcor answered. "He would then try to bring proof out of Batarian space with him,if he could not do this we knew the people we suspected were using sales of art to fund themselves and we even knew of some of the pieces they had. Our plan was that if he could not get it out himself he would place the OSD in hollow Krogan statue and make sure it reached the black market by a certain date,I would then buy it and be the only one able to decode the OSD. I would then decide if it was bad enough that the Counsel needed to be told about it."

"That sounds like a plan." Garrus said. "What went wrong?"

"Sadly the date came and went four weeks ago and I had not heard from Jugan and the piece did not seem to have turned up on the black market. I can only assume he was found out and they knew he had hidden the OSD in a statue but they must not have known which one so they just didn't ship out any."

"So that is when you decided to hire me to steal it with out given me or anyone I brought into it with me any idea of what we would be walking into!" Kasumi said,her voice was just below a yell and there was fire in her eyes.

"Ashamed:I did not know it would be as dangerous as it seems to have become. I thought that the fewer people who knew the better it would be. I am sorry about your friend. It seems we have both lost friends to these people."

At this point it looked like Kasumi was about to say something else but Garrus stepped in. "Right now we have bigger issues. Can you decode this disc so we can find out what is going on?" Garrus asked.

"Answer:Yes,please follow me." Leldo then led them to a large desk that faces away from the windows with a computer on it. He took the OSD from Garus and placed it in the computer's drive,he then ran a special program and a few minutes latter all all the data from the disk popped up on on the holo display.

"Well what have we got?" Garrus asked.

"Puzzled:It seems to be a some genetic formula but I have no knowledge of this area of science." The Elcor answered. "It also seemed to contain a list of Batarian names,places,and dates."

Kasumi was now looking at the screen. "That is odd all the dates seem to be a least two weeks away,and the places all seem to be on the border of Batarian space." She said.

"It could be meet points." Gurras said thoughtfully. "Maybe Jugan found other Batarians who felt like him and they want to get out of Batarian space so he is telling us where and when to pick them up. Or it could be where the leaders of this movement are going to be on certain dates and he is letting us know so we can take them out."

"Both of those make sense." Kasumi said and before she could say anything else there was a loud beeping from the com unit on one of the walls.

"Puzzled:That is the planetary emergency alarm" Leldo explained. "That has not been used since before the war." Just then there was an explosion that blew out the massive windows and knocked all three of them to the floor. Kasumi found herself surrounded by dust and glass from where the windows had been. She was in pain but she knew she needed to get up. She stood up and brushed herself off and turned and looked out of the space where the windows had been and she could not believe what she saw. Off in the distance there were three Earth frigates and and more fighters then she could count at the moment,then she saw that taking the lead were three shuttles that were getting closer to the house. So troops would be here any moment. She looked around franticly,the desk had been knocked over and Leldo was lying on the ground but he was still breath,Garrus was trapped under one of his legs but Kasumi didn't go to him right away,on the floor she saw the computer just barely working and she made a beeline for that.

"Are you okay Garus?" She yelled as she got to the computer and opened her Omni-Tool.

"There is an Elcor on top of me and a fleet of ships is shooting at us,is that okay?!" Garus responded.

"I will be there in a few seconds." Kasumi said not looking up from her work.

"Oh by all means take your time." Garrus said. "It's not like those shuttle are getting closer."

"What is the password for your Omni-Tool?" Kasumi asked.

"What? Why would you want that?" Garrus asked not believing what he was hearing.

"I am downloading all of this data to both of our Omni-Tools so that if only one of us makes it we will still have the data." Kasumi explained. Now give me the pass word those shuttles will be landing any minute.

"PeekaBoo" Garrus answered.

Kasumi entered the password and the data began downloading onto Garrus' Omni-Tool as well as hers. She then made her way to Garrus and with him pushing and her pulling they started to lift the Elcor's heavy leg. "How do you know about PeekaBoo?" She asked as she strained to lift the leg.

"I played it a few times with Shepard's kids." Garrus explained as the leg finally moved he began to craw out from under it.

"And you called Eye Spy a stupid game." Kasumi joked as she was finally able to drop the leg.

Garrus tried to stand up but the pain he fell to the ground in pain. "I think my legs and ribs are broken!" he yelled.

Kasumi ran over to him,by this point the shuttles were landing out side and troops in full battle armor were getting out. "Well then I'll just have to carry you." Kasumi said.

"You do that and neither of us will escape." Garrus pointed out. "You make a run for the victory and then as soon as you get in give that alien device power,I will hold them off here."

"No!" Kasumi Yelled. "I will not leave you behind! I will not make the same mistake I made with Kehji!"

"You can't carry me!" Garrus yelled back,he was in great pain but he managed to pull out his sniper riffle and shoot one of the Human troops in the head,this caused the others to slow their advance and take cover.

"I can carry you." A deep voice said from the other side of the room. Both Garrus and Kasumi were so distracted by the troops and each other that they had not noticed Adril enter the room. He quickly made his way to Garrus and bent down. Kasumi fired a few shots from her gun to give the troops something to think about and then she threw a smoke granade to give them some cover. She then helped Garrus onto the Elcor's back and climbed on her self. "Thank you" She said to the Elcor. By this point the spoke had cleared and the troops were closing in. Adril took off through the house in the direction of the landing pad with the troops in hot pursuit. Shots were flying as the troops fired at them and Kasumi and Garrus returned fire while trying to hang on to the Elcor's back.

As they ran across the outside path Garrus pushed a few buttons on his Omni-Tool and the cargo bay doors at the back of the Victory opened. Adril rushed inside and Gurus closed the door just as the troops were about to catch up with them. They hear shots impacting on the outside of the ship. There was no time to lose Kasumi jumped off of Adril's back and made a dash for the engine room. Three earth fighters were closing on the Victory,there was no time to take off. The fighter fired but at the last second before impact Kasumi gave the alien device power,there was a flash of blue light,and the victory was gone. They were safe for now. _Kasumi had no idea what was going on or why Human ships were working with the Batarians all she knew was that she didn't care. She had to get Garrus some place with a doctor. She didn't know what it was but back at the house when she thought she would have to leave him she had almost the same feelings she had when she had left Kehji behind and she knew she couldn't live through that twice. She didn't know what was going on with her and right now she was too tired to care,all she did know was that she couldn't lose Garrus the way she lost Kehji._

**Okay that is chapter 15. I have tried two new things with this chapter. First I decided to put character's thoughts in italics so that they would look different then dialog. Also I would really like to post more often but stupid real life keeps getting in the way so from not on my goal will be to post one chapter a week on thursdays with more coming out if I have time. Let me know what you think of these two choices. As always I hope you enjoyed this chapter,thank you for your time,please leave a review,and may fortune guide your travels. (Was this week's episode of Castle the best ever or what?!:)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Jacob Taylor sat in his study with the lights off staring lifelessly at the holo display in front of him. He was supposed to be trying to figure out which classified files his wife had used his security clearance to look at and copy,but his heart just was not in it. For one thing it was a nearly impossible job. He had to go back through years of records and try to remember which files he had really looked at and which the computer just thought he looked at. He had finally just started looking at the reports for every case that had come up to his leave since he had become C-SEC's executor and then compared them with files opened to see if they were related to the case. If the file that had been opened was related to the case chances were he had opened it,if it wasn't he assumed it had been Brynn Cole who had opened it. He refused to think of her as Brynn Taylor since their whole relationship had been a lie and he had just been too stupid to see it. Still it was very slow going and he was having trouble putting together a picture of what Cole and Cerberus had been after from the files that were opened,it seemed pretty much random.

Then there was the fact that his desk faced the open door of his study and since the study was attached to the master bedroom he could see the bed they had shared for years every time he looked up. It wasn't just having someone betray him that had him so upset,it was the fact that everything reminded him of how happy he had been up until the night before. In the case of his father he had learned when he was a kid not to get to close. So while seeing what his father had done to his crew after his ship crashed and then leaving him to die at the hands of those he abused had been painful,it had not hurt like this. Ever since he had met Cole as he now thought of her he had been happier then he had ever been in his life. He had fallen completely in love with her,he had fathered two children with her,and he had been so happy for so long that he had started to take the happiness for granted. Everything in the bedroom from the bed,to the photos of their family,to her clothes reminded him of how happy he had been. Yet in all that time and for as happy as she looked in the photos she had spent the whole time laughing at him and plotting to use him to betray everything he stood for. This was all getting to be too much,Jacob now knew nothing but sadness and pain. So he through himself into his work and tried not to let himself feel anything.

Jacob didn't know how long he had been working. He had not noticed the passage of time until John and Susan his two children entered the room. The kids brought a whole different kind of pain with them. On the one hand he loved them and he had always wanted to be a better dad then his father had been so he had to be strong for them. On the other hand they were the products of his union with a woman he now hated and wanted to kill. They also reminded him of just how far Cole had gotten under his skin and how blind to her true purpose he had been.

John the oldest was six and he was walking ahead of his four and a half year old sister. He walked up to his father and began to speak.

"Dad it's diner time and mom has not come home yet,what do we eat?" He asked. Jacob had been so cought up in his pain that he had completely forgotten about the mondane every day tasks that still had to go on no matter how dead he felt inside. "Alright I will fix get you some food." Jacob said in a voice barely above a whisper as he got up from his desk.

The dinner and the rest of the evening was hard to get through. Jacob tried his best to act normal and reassure the kids that their mother was just on a trip but he could tell they were not buying it. He had no idea what to do. At one point Susan had asked if Mother had stopped loving her and for a moment Jacob was tempted to answer with what he suspected was the truth that she had never loved any of them but after looking into his daughter's eyes he could not do it and just answered that her mother still loved her very much. Finally after what felt like days to Jacob the kids went to bed and he was able to get back to work. That is when he heard a loud knock at the door. Jacob got up and walked to the front door,he was not in the mood for company right now. He used his Omni-Tool to scan and see who it was on the other side of the door. He was surprised to see Grunt standing there holding a bottle of some kind,it was large the type you would expect a Krogan to drink from. With a sigh Jacob opened the door.

"With everything that has happened I figured you could you some company tonight." Grunt said simply holding out the bottle.

"Thanks for the thought." Jacob said not bothering to look up at the Krogan. "But I am not really in the mood for company."

"Well that is too bad." Grunt said and then he shocked Jacob by pushing his way past him and into the living room giving Jacob no choice but to follow. "Because you are still part of my BattleClan and after a defeat we do not leave members of our BattleClan alone to fall into depression. You need someone to drink with tonight and that is my job." Jacob was about to protest but something about Grunt's tone told him it would be useless. He instead went into the kitchen and got two glasses and returned a few minutes latter to find Grunt looking around the living room.

"Sorry we don't have any large chairs,we don't get many Krogan visitors." Jacob said as he took a seat on the sofa and put the glasses down on the coffee table.

"That's okay chairs make Krogan soft anyway." Grunt said and he took a seat on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table. If some had told Jacob all those years ago that the tank bread Krogan they had picked up trying to stop the collectors would have been sitting in his home some day pouring him a drink he would have called them crazy,but here they were. Jacob took his glass and took a gulp from it. Normally Krogan whiskey was too strong for him but tonight it seem to be exactly the right thing.

"So how have you been holding up?" Grunt asked in his usual blunt manor.

"If you don't mind." Jacob answered with a sad sigh. "I would rather not talk about it. I have been thinking about it too much."

Grunt thought about what to say next. Krogan faced problems like this head on but he didn't want to judge Jacob since Jacob was a Human and Grunt had never been in love so he didn't know what Jacob was going through. After refilling their glasses he decided on another tacked. Maybe talking about the victories they had shared and their missions on the Normandy would help.

"Do you remember that time we had to take out that mech factory because some idiot had programed all the security mechs to attack anything that moved?" Grunt asked trying to sound more cheerful.

"How could I forget?." Jacob answered,the combination of drink and memories was helping him loosen up. "For a while I thought those mechs were never going to stop coming."

"Yeah that was a long day but we beat them in the end."

They went on talking about old times for neither of them knew how long when finally they got quiet. Grunt could see tears forming in Jacob's eyes. "How could have been so stupid and let her pull the wool over my eyes,like that?!" Jacob finally side.

Finally Grunt knew what to say. "Everyone gets fooled by an enemy at some point,there is no shame in that because it is part of life. As long as you don't let it destroy you and you make it right you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"But I let her get too close,I mean we had kids and I didn't have a clue who she really was."

"Speaking of what are you going to do with the children?" Grunt asked.

"Nothing I still love John and Susan and none of this is their fault." Jacob answered. If there was one thing he was still sure of it was that he loved his kids. "I just don't know how to tell them that their mother was a traitor and she left them because she never really loved any of us. How do you tell children that with out destroying them?" Jacob asked sadly.

Grunt thought about this for a few moments and then answered carefully. "Now granted I have never been a child and technialy I am only a little older then your son but it seems to me maybe if you make it less about her leaving and more about the fact that they will always have you it may soften the blow."

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked barely understanding what grunt was saying. He was now sleepy and full of booze.

"Well when you need to motivate troops you don't draw their attention to the warriors who were lost in the last battle,you talk about everything you won in that battle. Do the same here. Tell them their mother is gone and just make sure they understand you will not leave them." Grunt said. "Just treated it like you would if she had died. Tell them what you need to and then be there for them and make sure they move on."

"You know for a Krogan you are kind of smart." Jacob said with a yawn and before he could say anything else he had fallen asleep on the couch. Grunt stood guard in the living room as a Krogan was supposed to at times like this but finally finishing off the bottle got to him and he fell asleep on the floor.

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Tali and Shepard had agreed that what the children needed after all the excitement of the past few days was something normal and fun to keep their minds off of all the problems that had popped up lately. To that ended they decided to have a night of family fun playing board games and watching films. When Tali asked what game the kids wanted to play that had answered with one of their favorites,Fleet Commander. It was a Quarian game that even Shepard liked because he understood most of the rules. It was a little like the Human game Monopoly. Each player started out with one ship on a board that represented the galaxy. The game was played on a ninety minute timer and the goal was to have the most ships and supplies in your fleet when the timer beeped.

As always the two older boys complained when Raan insisted Pablo get a ship and a turn,but Shepard managed to calm them down and they had a lot of fun. Shepard fell way behind when he landed on a space and drew a card that said mice had gotten into the grain on one of his ships. The man who had saved the galaxy had been undone by mice of all things. At the end of the ninety minute game the argument over if Pablo should count as a player came but when Rael came in second to the stuffed bear. Shepard could tell that Tali was snickering behind her mask. Rael could be very competitive,loosing to his little sister was bad enough,but losing to her stuffed bear was just going too far. Finally the argument was calmed down and Shepard dimmed the living room lights while Tali brought up the large view screen on the wall and started the movie.

The movie was a good one. It was a comedy called the Lost Turian staring the great Turian comic actor Greno Kalwor. When Shepard had first her of the film it had seemed strange to him that any Turian could become a comic actor but it turned out that on Palavin as on earth having a tightly structured social order bread people who saw the funny side of it any everything. It reminded Shepard of how Great Britain had produced so many great comedians a few hundred years ago. The film had been the first ever co-production between a Turian and Human film studio. It was made three years after the first contact war with filming on both Palavan and Earth. In it's own way it had helped change the way many Humans saw the Turians and it made Kalwor a big star on Earth as well as his home world. The movie was about a helpless Turian was always making mistakes,one day while trying to fix his ship's Mass Effect core he ended up sending himself back in time by mistake(as one of his crew mates puts it at the end of the movie "There should have been no way for him to do that.") and he ends up on earth ten years before the first contact war. He has to make his way around an alien planet while trying not to attract too much attention,that is easier said them done. He ends up meeting a human boy named Nick who because he is a klutz gets picked on and doesn't have any friends but he is smart and he believes the Turian when he tells him his story. The two figure out how to get the Turian back to his own time and the Turian sees decides that Humans are not bad news as he and many of his people thought. The problem is they need money to by a part,so the boy comes up with the idea of going to Hollywood and telling a producer that the the Turian is the product of an incredible new make up process they have invented. Along the way there are lots of misunderstandings due to the differences between Turian and Human culture but in the end the Turian gets home after warning Nick to stay out of the area where the first contact war would be fought,then ten years later he visits the Nick who is now grown up. It was a good movie that did something most critics didn't think could be done,it mixed Human and Turian humor while at the same time having a story that managed to touch on maters that were important to both races.

Once the movies was over Raan turned to her father and asked. "You didn't grow up on earth like Nick so where did you grow up?" This question worried Tali at first since her husband had so much pain in the past but she was relieved when he just got a soft smile on his face and started to speak gently to the girl.

"My parents were farmers and I grew up on the beautiful colony world of Mindoir." Shepard began wistfully. "I had a younger sister named Herriot who kept a lot of animals and lots of friends. We used to walk the fields for hour and play baseball or pretend we were off having adventures saving the galaxy." Shepard went on to answer question about his life and family and what it had been like there until Rael asked him a question "What happened to Mindoir and and how come we have never met Herriot or your parents?"

Shepard gave a sad smile and answered. "That is another story for another time."

"Right now it is time for your kids to get to bed." Tali said. This got complaints from everyone but finally they went upstairs after saying good night and got into bed.

Shepard then turned to his wife he need to talk to her,his tone became serious and that worried Tali. "Tali I can't lose my family again,I need you to promise me that if Cerberus attacks the Citadel you will take the kids and get away on the Normandy."

"John if you think I am going leave you to fight Cerberus on your own then you really don't know me. We will fight this together like we always have." Tali said shocked. If she was honest with herself this request did not surprise her but she had always stood and fought beside her family,her fleet,and Shepard and she wasn't going to stop now.

"Please!" Shepard said this time his voice was stern and almost raised to yell and there were tears in his eyes. "You and the kids are the only thing that matters to me any more. It took me a long time to bring down my defenses and be able to love someone after what happened when I was 16. I would not make it through that again,I can't live with out you."

"And you think I want to go on with out you?!" Tali asked her voice raised now too. "What am I suppose to do if Cerberus kills you,you got me through a lot too and you still do. I want to fight beside you and I will."

"Please think of the kids,I can't lose them and if I do get killed they will need you to be strong for them. I am asking you to do this because I trust you to be strong,you are the only person that I know who could go through that and still be able to take care of them." Shepard's eyes had a pleading look in them now and he had said the only thing that could make Tali back down on this issue.

"Okay." Tali said quietly. "I promise." Tali did not like that John's mind was going to such dark places and she could tell the stress was getting to him and if she was honest she wasn't doing too well either. "Are you coming up to bed?" She asked softly.

"I have some paper work to do." Shepard explained simply. "You go up ahead and I will be there in about half an hour."

"Okay" Tali said somewhat sadly. She then walked up the stairs,she decided to use the time to do something about the stress both she and John were feeling.

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It took Shepard almost an hour to finish his paperwork and when he got up to his and Tali's bedroom he found that the guard outside,a young Human was barely holding back a smirk when he saluted. Shepard didn't have to wait long to find out what it was about. The seals were engaged on the bedroom door so the air from outside could not get in. When he stepped in he could tell that only filtered air was being used and decon program had been run over the room. When he looked across the room to the bed he and Tali shared his heart skipped a beat and his mind left the dark places it had been for so long and he forgot all his troubles. There was the breathtaking site of Tali his wife sitting in bed with out her suit and if he had to guess she didn't have anything else on under the sheet she was covered with. He started to strip as he made his way over to the bed.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked with a grin.

"After everything that has happened I thought you needed to relax." Tali said coyly.

"Oh you thought I needed to relax?" Shepard said as he climbed into bed. "If you ask me you are the one who is stressed."

"Well I have to admit I have been looking forward to this." Tali responded and then she playfully hit Shepard's shoulder.

"What was that for?" He asked with mock hurt.

"That is for keeping me waiting for an hour when you only said you would be half an hour." Tali answered.

"Well now I guess we both have a good reason to hate paper work." Shepard said kissing Tali lightly.

"Yeah I guess we do." Was all Tali got out before Shepard drew her lips to his.

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Shepard was awoken a few hours latter by the beep of the com unit on the wall. He looked over and smiled at the sight of his wife still asleep beside him. He slowly got up so as not to wake her and looked for his boxers and T-Shirt once he had found them he made his way to the com unit. _Some days he wished he could ban these things,or at least keep people from calling him at four in the morning._ He turned on the com unit and tried not to look as tired as he was. When he saw Miranda's face he loosened up a little. _He knew her and if anyone was getting less sleep and was more stressed them him it was her._

"What's up?" He ask sleepily.

"Sorry to wake you Shepard." Miranda said in her usual even tone. "We have found the fifth fleet."

"Good where is it." Shepard said shaking himself awake.

"They just attacked six cities on Dakunna." Miranda answered grimly. This news shook Shepard to his core. _This mean that he now had no choice he would have to hunt down and destroy a human fleet in order to keep the peace. He was now more happy then ever that he had last night because there were some very hard time ahead._

**Well that is chapter 16. I hope you enjoyed it,thank you for your time,and please leave a review.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Kasumi Goto went to the Victory's cockpit just long enough to ensure that the ship was safe. Once she saw that the sky was full of red clouds she made her way to the med bay and retrieved the stretcher from it. She then wasted no time in getting to the cargo bay were she had left a badly hurt Garrus and Adril the Elcor that had saved their lives. When Kasumi entered the cargo bay she was greeted by the Elcor's flat unemotional voice.

"Genuine concern:Spectre Vakarian's breathing has gotten more shallow and I believe he is coming in and out of consciousness." The Elcor said.

Kasumi didn't respond instead she just raced to the Turian's side and began checking his vitals. Adril was right. Garrus' eyes were rolled back and he wasn't responding. He was still breathing but just barely. Kasumi applied Medi-Gel as best she could. Then with what was for her a mighty effort she lifted Garrus onto the stretcher. She then pulled the stretcher out of the hanger and into the medbay. Kasumi switched on the ultimated systems to take care of Garrus. Garrus let out a painful moan but seemed unable to open his eyes.

"Garrus don't die on me!" Kasumi responded sternly. "You are still my ride and I need you alive." Kasumi was glad Garrus couldn't see her face because she didn't think she was doing a good job of hiding just how upset she was.

Finally after what felt like hours the machines finished diagnosing what was wrong with Garrus and it was pretty bad. Both his legs had been broken in several places and and four of his ribs had been smashed with fragments piecing his right lung. Kasumi got to work doing the best she could with the machine's help to make Garrus stable. She was no doctor but she was able to stop most of the internal bleeding and get the machine to help with his breathing. After an hour or twos work he was doing better. Still he could do nothing but grown in pain. Kasumi knew he needed a real doctor and a good one at that. Kasumi had pumped Garrus full of pain killers. She hoped she had not given him too many but she didn't like seeing him in so much pain. Finally Kasumi had to take a break. She just sat down beside the stretcher Garras was on exhausted. She fell half asleep for a while to the sounds of the machines beeping and Garrus breathing.

Kasumi was awoken by Garrus stirring he started to move his arms and opened his eyes a bit.

"Garrus don't try to move." Kasumi said not caring now that her worry was showing. "You are on the victory and we are safe,you are hurt bad and need to stay still."

Garrus wasn't able to respond with words since there was a breathing tube going down his throat. Instead he reached for his omni-tool and hit a few buttons. It was clearly painful for him and Kasumi tried to stop him but he broke free of her grasp and hit the buttons before passing out again. For a moment Kasumi was in shock and was not sure what he had done,then she looked at his omni-tool and saw that he had entered some passwords and unlocked all of the controls on the ship. It was then she figured out that he must think he was dying and was making sure she would be able to run the ship with out him. A single tear ran down Kasumi's face.

_I will not let him die!_ She thought to herself. She didn't know how she was going to save him only that she needed to. It was then that she remembered their Elcor guest who was stuck in the cargo bay. This was of course because none of the doors on the ship were big enough for him to walk through. After the way Adril risked his life for them Kasumi knew she should make sure he was okay too. She decided to try and make her new shipmate comfortable and went through the ship collecting all the spare blankets and pillows she could find. It wouldn't do much for the massive Elcor but at least it would be better then sleeping on the hard metal floor. When Kasumi entered the cargo bay she saw Adril sitting at the far side by the hatch,she aprouched him.

"I am sorry you can't get into the rest of the ship." She said weakly. "I brought you some blankets and pillows,I hope they help make you more comfortable."

The Elcor turned his head to face her and replied. "Reasurring:Do not worry about me. I do not like traveling in spaceships but Spectre Vakarian should be our concern at the moment. Is he well?"

"He is stable but not doing well." Kasumi said flatly as she sat down on the floor beside Adril.

"I am sorry to hear that." The Elcor said. "Concern:You care about him a great deal do you not?"

"'Yes I do." Kasumi responded. She was kind of surprised to hear herself admitting it. The only way she could make sense of it was to think that she was too tired and emotionally drained for anything but the truth to come out of her mouth. "You know it is funny,a few days ago I hardly knew him but now he is one of my best friends and I can't stand the idea of losing him. Damn it! I have lost too many friend!" Her tone became heated on the last part. She really was mad at the whole universe at the moment. The Elcor did not respond to this instead he turned away and seemed to get lost in his own thoughts for a moment.

"Guarded speculation:I hope has not come to harm,he is a good man who I have worked for most of my life. I hope those Humans will not harm him now that we are gone." The Elcor said finally.

"You will forgive me if I am not feeling quite so charitable towards your ,after all he is the reason Garrus is fighting for his life right now." Came Kasumi's reply and it was much more bitter then anything she would have said normally. For the second time in as many minutes she had shocked herself.

"Confused:How is any of this his fought? What did he do to make you angry." Adril asked.

"Well just let me tell you." Kasumi answered tersely. She then preceded to tell Adril the whole story of her and Garrus' adventures. About the alien device and how they escaped Dakunna. It took some time and when she was done she was drained and didn't have any energy left.

"Shocked:Now I see why you are upset. The man you love is struggling for life because of something did. I can only tell you that he must have meant well. He is a kind person who saved many lives including mine when the Reapers attacked. I don't believe he would have put you in danger on purpose." Adril said.

"I don't love Garrus!" Kasumi interrupted in a much sterner tone then she meant. "I have just come to respect him as a friend since all this started." In the very back of her mind Kasumi did start to wonder if maybe the phrase from Hamlet "Me thinks she douth protest too much." could in any way apply here,but as soon as the thought entered her mind she pushed it aside. "_No way,I am just worried and tired right now."_ She thought to herself and she pushed that very silly thought aside.

"Apologetically:I did not mean to cause offense. Some times we Elcor read too much into the body language of other races because it plays such a major role in how we communicate with each other. Again I am sorry for causing you to become upset." Adril said. Kasumi did not respond she just sat for a long time looking sad,finally with out knowing it was happening she fell asleep on the floor. Adril moved one of the pillows under her head. He felt sorry for the young Human woman who had been through so much still he couldn't help thinking about all the others back at his home. _How many Elcor are dying in an attack we can not hope to repeal while I sit safely in a spaceship in some unknown part of space. _He thought to himself reprouchfuly.  
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Shepard saw no reason to wake his wife by making all the calls he had to make from their bedroom. There was nothing she could do about this emergency after all. He got dressed and went down to his office. He only turned on his desk lamp and he made the calls from his computer. It was too early to turn on all the lights. The first call he made was to Prime Minister Hackett. When the older man appeared on the screen he looked like he had aged five years since Shepard had last spoken to him.

"I know why you are calling and I have been fully briefed." Hackett said grimly. "I can't believe my old command would just turn like that and attack civilian targets on a world that has never been hostile to us. I just can't believe that officers who I trained could do this."

"I know how you feel." Shepard said sadly. "Cerberus has done a good job of blindsiding all of us and hiding their people right under our noses. It has to end here,we need to get on top of this."

"I know." Hackett said looking careworn. "I also know why you are calling me and I have to tell you this will not be a popular move with the Human public."

"Yeah I know,but it has to be done." Shepard replied decisively. "But it has to be done. You have to publicly declare the fifth fleet traitors and terrorist so that Earth will not be blamed and when I have to order the Counsel fleets to hunt them down and destroy the fifth fleet I am doing it hand in hand with Earth."

"Yes I know." Hackett said with a sad sigh. "I just never thought this day would come. You and I having to use alien ships to hunt down and kill more then fifty thousand of our own people,it's a black day John."

Shepard couldn't remember the last time he had heard Hackett call him by his first time,it showed just how bad things were. "Still it has to be done." Shepard said,his voice didn't betray any emotion because he was afraid of what would happen if he did. He was in crisis mode now. This was what he was good at. Seeing what had to be done for the greater good in an emergency and doing it no matter the cost or his own feelings on the matter. Saving as many people as he could. He had learned to do this long ago and it was a reason he was always so good and clear headed under fire. He saved people plain and simple. He didn't worry about the cost,he just did it and counted the cost latter. He personally knew the pain brought about by inaction,so he always acted. That was one of the things that made him a hero.

"Yeah don't worry." Hackett said. "I will be making a speech expressing my outrage over this attack and pledging to support any action the Counsel needs to take to prevent another one in half an hour. Now I need to talk to my cabinet." Then with out even saying goodby the older man was gone.

Shepard then spent the next five minutes making calls arranging a meeting of his Round Table to take place in fifteen minutes. He also made sure the the Citadel Counsel's second fleet which was closest to Dakunna was sent in to respond. Their orders were to relieve the planet and guard it against future attacks. Shepard had no idea what Cerberus wanted on the almost unarmed planet but he wasn't going to make it easy for them to get it. That was assuming they had not already got it.

Shepard then sat down and wrote a short not that explained what was going on and told his wife that he felt it was very important that she go to work today. Things were coming to a head and they needed to know what Object Alpha did since it seemed to be at the center of Cerberus' plans. He then sent the message to Tali's omni-tool.

Shepard then sat back for a moment. He was still worried about the response Humans would have over him and Hackett killing so many Humans over an alien affair. He knew that while most Humans were friendly to aliens and were even grateful for their help in freeing earth the media still tended to treat them as outsiders. Many people would be saying that if Humans just had not worked with aliens in the first place none of this would be happening. It was while his mind was on these gloomy thoughts that he heard the sound of someone moving and speaking in a hushed tone outside of his office. He decided to see what was going on.

Shepard opened his office door and found officer Greer Grizel Munna of C-SEC talking to his daughter who was of course holding her well worn Teddy bear Pablo. Munna was an older Scottish woman with white hair and she had been guarding the Shepard family since John Shepard had become President. She had been one of the first Human C-Sec officers and Shepard liked and trusted her. She stood up and turned to face Shepard when he entered the room.

"Sorry sir,I was just about to put the little one here back to bed." She said quietly in her thick Scottish accent.

"Don't worry,I'll take care of it." Shepard said with a small half smile as he bent down and picked up his daughter.

"Alright sir." Greet said and then she returned to her position guarding the front door.

"Goodnight officer Munna." Raan said sleepily.

"Goodnight,little one." The officer replied. Shepard then began walking up the stairs with Raan in his arms.

"So what has got you and Pablo up?" Shepard asked with a yawn.

"We heard you get up." his daughter replied. "Is something wrong,it's so early?" She asked.

"Yeah but it's a grown up problem so you don't need to worry about it." Shepard said as he put her down in her bed and covered her.

"I don't worry about anything." Raan said now yawning herself.

"Why is that?" Shepard asked

"Because you are a hero and can handle anything and you have a lot of friends who will help you." She answered simply.

Shepard smiled to himself. "_If only it were that easy"_ he thought to himself. "Well good night." he said giving her a hug.

"Goodnight Dad." she replied and then began to drift off to sleep.

Shepard then went back to his office he now had one more call to make. "_out of the mouths of babes. Maybe this time one of my friends can help." _He thought to himself. He started to make his last call. In a few minutes the face of his old reporter friend Emily Wong was on the screen. She had clearly just woken up.

"Sorry to wake you so early but there is a situation and I need your help." Shepard said.

"Well of course anything I can do sir,but I can't just become a mouth piece for the government." Emily replied shaking the cobwebs from her head.

"I am not asking you too. Look something bad has happened,thousands of people are dead." Shepard said calmly and then he explained what was happening on Dakunna to her.

"That's just so awful,I can't believe it." Was all Emily could think to say when he had finished. If there was one thing Shepard could count on it was Emily Wong to care about people give their stories their dues no matter what race they were.

"As you can imagine the actions that are going to have to be taken against the fifth fleet will not be popular with a lot of humans." Shepard explain,Emily nodded in agreement. "That is why I want you there not to be a mouth piece but to put a Human,for lack of a better term face on this story. The Citadel Counsel battle cruiser Denmark is going to be leaving in about 90 minutes as part of the relief effort I would like you to be on it. I want you to show how tragic this is for the Elcor and why we can't let it happen again. I am sending orders for them to let you on and provide you with anything you need. Will you do it?" Shepard asked.

"Of course." Emily answered. "I'll be ready to go when they are. Thanks for trusting me with this sir. Now I had better go and get ready. I hate standing on the sidelines the way reporters have to most of the time so thanks again for giving me something productive to do." and with that she signed off.

Shepard smiled to himself,she had sure come a long way since she was just the young reporter looking for help in cracking her first big story all those years ago. Rann was a smart girl,having friends did pay off.

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Leldo found himself in near total darkness when he woke up. The only source of light seemed to be a single dim light above his head. He tried to more but found all four of his limbs were chained to the floor. Desperately he tried to make out what he could of his surroundings. The room he was in seemed to be round and small by Elcor standards. He could make out the dim glow of what appeared to be a force field that was all around him. On the other side of the force field there were at least four Humans in full battle gear. Dimly Leldo became aware of pain in every part of his body. He wondered where he was and what had happened to Kasumi and Garrus after he had been knocked out. From the dim hum and sense of motion he guessed he was in a space ship of some kind but he had no idea what had happened to the Turian and the Human. It was just then that a ray of bright white light broke the darkness and a dark skinned Human woman entered the room from a door on the far side. She walked up to the force field just in front of Leldo's face.

"Hello . My name is Bryyn." She said coldly. "I am afraid we were unable to retrieve the files you stole so now you will have to tell us what was on them. That includes the names of the Batarian traitors. If you choose to resist or lie then things will get very painful for you. I trust you will not be that foolish."

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Kasumi was woken up by a loud buzzing from her Omni-Tool.

"Oh my God!" She shouted as she jumped up. "Something is wrong with Garrus!" and before Adril could say anything she dashed out of the cargo bay and towards the med bay. She didn't think she had ever covered such distance so fast. When she got to the med bay she found that Garrus had woken up and despite the great pain he was in seemed to be trying to get up. She rushed over to his side and began gently to try and hold him down. He was ranting about how she needed to get out,Kasumi forced him to look at her. "Listen to me Garrus." Speaking as if she was comforting a frightened child. "You are safe we are both safe. You need to stop moving. You are badly hurt and every time you move you are making yourself worse." Garrus calmed down but Kasumi could still see a hint of panic in his eyes. "I am going to up the dosage of your sedative so that you will go back to sleep and not hurt yourself." She said finally. Kasumi then hit a button on the control panel and after waiting to make sure he went back to sleep began to make her way back to the cargo bay. When she entered the cargo bay she was greeted by the flat lifeless voice of Adril.

"Inquiry:Why did the man throw his clock out the window?" The Elcor asked.

"What?!" was the only response Kasumi could manage.

"Answer:He wanted to see time fly." Adril said.

"That's horrible." Kasumi said but she let out a little laugh despite herself.

"Concerned:did that piece of Human humor improve your mood?"

"Not really." Kasumi said sadly. "But thank you for trying. I need to get Garrus to a doctor but for all I know using that device again will just send us back to Dakunna or some place worse. He is going to die all because I have no idea what to do." She placed her head in her hands and there was panic in her voice now.

"I have an idea." Adril said.

"Great tell me,whatever it is I will take it!" Kasumi said perking up.

"If Garrus was right about the device interfacing with your navigational computer then what if you deleted all plotted courses from it except for one plotted to where you want to go,then maybe it would take the ship there." Adril said.

"You know that just may work." Kasumi said at last. "I mean I have no reason to think it will for sure but I will take it!"

Without saying another word she ran out of the cargo bay and towards the cockpit. It felt strange sitting in Garrus' seat at first. She did some thinking then decided that Omega was the best place to head for. It was the only place she could be sure of getting help for Garrus and that time would not be wasted with her getting arrested and having to explain things to people. She was sure by now the Bloodpack mercs who were looking for her would know that she had left. At any rate she would not be on the station long so it was the best bet.

She deleted everything except the course for Omega and then made her way back to the engine room to the device. The one thing that worried her was that she didn't know how long to wait before giving the device power again. She hoped she could figure it out or Garrus was dead. About twenty minutes after she entered the engine room see saw a small green dot begin to glow at the top of the device. She decided to take a chance that this meant they were at their destination,she applied the power. After getting up from being knocked to the floor by the blast of energy she made her way to the cockpit. She had never been more happy to see any place then she was to see the run down hive of crime that was Omega. She hit the intercom button on her Omni-tool.

"Adril I just thought I would let you know that you are a genius!" She said happily. Now she just had to dock and get Maelon to leave his clinic with any luck in half an hour Garrus would have the help he needed.

Before Kasumi left she set it up so that the Victory could be controlled from a panel down in the cargo bay,just in case she was wrong about coming to Omega. It took her about ten minutes of walking through the dark foul smelling streets of Omega to reach the clinic. Anywhere else in the galaxy the presence of heavily armed mechs would not indicate that a hospital or clinic was behind the heavy metal doors,but Omega did everything by it's own rules. Kasumi took the steps two at a time and went through the doors.

Inside was like nowhere else on Omega. It was bright,not dark. It was clean,not dirty. Everything was white and sterile. The air smelled good,it didn't stink. The waiting room was full of staff and desperate people who they were taking care of. Kasumi didn't take time to look at or talk to any of them. She just pushed a small human member of the staff who tried to stop her out of the way. She then ran down the hall to one of the back rooms that she had just seen Maelon enter. When she got in she found Maelon treating a young Batarian woman who was stretched out on a bed,she seemed to have minor burns on her arms and legs.

"Yes what do you want?" Maelon asked with out looking up. He said it in that quick terse manor that all Salarians spoke in and made it impossible to tell if they were really angry with you or not.

"I have a friend on my ship he is dying and can't be moved,I need you to come with me and treat him" Kasumi answered getting straight to the point,she knew Maelon liked that. "He has broken legs and ribs and I think the ribs damage at least one of his lungs."

"What race is he?" Maelon asked still not looking up from treating the burns on the woman.

"He is a Turian." Kasumi answered.

Maelon then hit a button on his Omni-Tool. "Jenkins" He said returning to working on the woman. "Put together a sergical kit for a Turian and have it waiting for me in the lobby." He then clicked off the Omni-Tool.

"Thank you." Kasumi said,relief showing in her voice.

"Don't thank me." Maelon said somewhat sadly. "I am only doing my duty hoping to make good before I die." He finished treating the woman. Now that he was done with the Batarian both he and Kasumi made their way out of the room and to the lobby. Judging by the number of people waiting there Maelon seemed to be making quite a bit of good Kasumi thought. Maelon picked up the kit that was already waiting for him and slung it on his back. They were just about to leave when what sounded like an alarm rang out through the clinic.

"What's that?" Kasumi asked.

"Someone is attacking my security mechs outside." Maelon answered and then he quickly brought up a video feed of what was happening outside on his Omni-Tool. A large group of both Bloodpack and Blue Suns mercs were attacking with help from a gun ship. "Why are they working together." Maelon asked himself with a mixture of puzzlement and worry. "Mechs can't hold them off alone." It was then that his old training kicked in. "They must have come for you." He said turning to Kasumi.

"I am afraid they may have." Kasumi said. She couldn't look Maelon in the eye,she felt guilty about bringing this fight to the one place on Omega people knew they would be safe.

"Well no time to worry about that now." Maelon said in a calm matter of fact manor. He then switched to a commanding voice and began taking charge. "The clinic is under attack all staff grab your weapons and use emergency pan Beta. Those of you tasked with getting civilians out take them out via the back exist,the rest of you come with me to help back up the mechs and buy time."

In less then a minute people were leaving in a orderly manor and Maelon and Kasumi were joined by about half a dozen members of the clinic staff from all different races and armed with a verity of weapons. "I think I should let you know." Kasumi said turning to Maelon as they got ready to open the large metal doors and go into battle. "That I have a computer virus on my Omni-Tool that should take down the shields of that gunship if I can get close enough."

"Excelent." Maelon said. "Everyone give this woman cover,if we can take down the gun ship then we should be able to deal with the mercs." Kasumi could tell most of these people had not been in a real battle before but to their credit none of them seemed to be backing down. When Maelon opened the doors and they all raced down the stairs to cover they had all entered into a new universe. The universe of battle. There was fear written on all of their faces but they each got to cover and began firing on the mercs. Kasumi was not about to let any of them die if she could help it but that gunship was making short work of the mechs and there were a lot of mercs between her and the gun ship and none of their weapons would make a dent in it's shields,Kasumi knew it was all up to her now.

Kasumi made a dash for the wreckage of a mech that could give her cover. She just made it and hear shots impacting on the other side of the mech,she then looked up to find herself facing a Krogan. She didn't have time to think she just took her knife and stabbed him in the throat. He fell to the ground dead in a pool of his own blood.

Out of the corner of her eye Kasumi could see Maelon making short work of a group of Vorcha. She didn't have time to think about what this implied before she had to move again. Luckily the members of the clinic staff and the mechs were keeping the gunship off of her but there was still a large group of mercs between her and her goal.

She through a flashbang to give herself cover and ran for a metal support pillar that was about half way between her and the gunship. She just made it but her right arm was clipped by a shot and started to bleed. She didn't have time for that now and she got up behind the cover the pillar offered. It was then that she found herself surrounded. There was a group of Batarins and Turians coming at her from behind and on the other side of the pillar at least three Krogan. She turned to deal with the Batarians and Turians first. She fired three shots and dropped the the lead Turrian,she then did a flip and made it behind the body of a dead Krogan. She then through her last flashbang at the group and did the last thing they expected. She jumped into the middle of them. It took all of her skill and she was sure more then once she was going to die but she had completely surprised them. By jumping around and using both her gun and knife she managed to take down all the confused mercs. Kasumi then had to stop and catch her breath for a moment,she took cover behind the dead Krogan again.

Her uniform was stained with blood. Looking behind her she saw that what was left of the mechs and clinic staff would not last much longer. The three Krogan were almost on top of her too. She had been saving her cloak for a desperate moment and this seemed as good a time as any.

She engaged her cloak and made a dash between the the Krogan who reacted with confusion. The Krogan could tell something ran by them but they were not sure who or what it was. She then quickly climbed up another pillar near the gunship. Kasumis felt pain in every part of her body but she pushed past it. She then made a flying leap onto the tail of the gunship. Passing through the gunship's shield caused her cloak to give out. From the impact the pilot could tell someone was on the gunship and he started trying to shake her off. Kasumi hung on for dear life.

Working with hacking and computer viruses sent Kasumi's mind to another place. It was a strange feeling. It must have been because it was one of her real talents and it took almost all her focus. Every time she did it she lost track of where she was and no matter how much danger she was in a sense of calm overcame her. It was as if her mind choose to only take in information that had to do with the task she knew she could complete if she was given enough time and she stayed focused. Then as always she was completely calm and almost zen like as she sent the virus that would end this flying monster's reign of death.

She then smiled when a bright flash surrounded her and the gunship indicating that it's shields were down. It was then that she lost her grip and fell to the ground with a thud. Kasumi was in pain and couldn't get up right away and that was bad because a Krogan was pointing a shotgun right at her. Suddenly about a dozen shots rang out and the Krogan dropped dead. It was Maelon,he rushed up beside Kasumi.

Maelon then dropped the riffle he was carrying and pulled a small rocket launcher from a holster on his back. He didn't have time to speak. He pulled the trigger and a bold of light and smoke shot out of his rocket launcher. The air was then full of an almost unbearable heat and a deafening noise as the once mighty gunship exploded in a fireball. The blast knock Maelon to the ground next to Kasumi.

Kasumi then jumped to her feet and fired her pistol into two Turians that were closing on them. "Are you alright?" Maelon asked her. "I am fine." Kasumin answered. "We need to get to Garrus. These Mercs may know where I docked."

It didn't take long to send the rest of the mercs running. Because they had been focused on attacking the clinic and had cover from the gunship most of them were out in the open so the few remaining mechs and the clinic staff were able to pick them off from their positions under cover. Kasumi then led Maelon to the bay where the Victory was docked after he had given instructions to his staff on what to do while he was gone.

When they got to the docking bay they found a group of Turian Blue Suns mercs trying to burn their way through the airlock. Kasumi didn't wait she opened fire and killed two. Maelon fired a few shots of his own and Kasumim took down the last one by first kicking his legs out from under him and then stabbing him with a blood stained knife. When they entered the ship Kasumi showed Maelon to the medbay. Maelon took a look at the reading.

"This Turian is in bad shape." He said in a matter of fact tone. His coldness made Kasumi angry.

"His name is Garrus and can you help him?!" She said tersely.

"Will not know that until I try." Was the only answer the Salarian gave her. Kasumi was about to respond when Adril's voice came over her Omni-Tool.

"Information:It looks like two earth ships just entered the system and are heading for us. I believe we should leave." The dull voice droned.

"Okay." Was all Kasumi could say and she rushed to the engine room. She gave the alien device power and then went to check and make sure the ship was safe.

Once Kasumi was sure it was she fell to the floor. She was tired. Her ruined outfit that she could never wear again told the tale of just how long and hard a day it had been but at least she had gotten help for Garrus,now she just had to hope Maelon was able to do something. She want to know what all this was about. She decided that was she needed to do was take a shower and change,everything else would keep for now. She had gotten help for Garrus and that was the only thing that mattered right now.

**Well that is chapter 17. Sorry this took so insanely long. Rite aid screwed up my meds and when they do that I can't focus(I have a condision call Asperger's you see)and I get intense headaches so I wasn't able to write for about two weeks. Now I am trying to get back on track. Sorry about the wait. As always think you for your time,I hope you enjoyed this chapter,and please leave a review.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Tali slept very well and she took her time waking up in the morning. Sleepily enjoying the cool air on her skin felt wonderful. One of the first things she did once her eyes were open at all was to turn her head and look at John's side of the bed. Given everything that had happened she didn't expect to find him still there sleeping next to her but she had hoped. Still even though she didn't expect it she was a little disappointed to to see it empty with her half opened eyes.

"_Oh well,only one flaw in an other wise perfect night. That's pretty good for us." _ She thought to herself with a sad half smile. She then stood up and let out a yawn while stretching her arms and legs. For a moment she wished she was back on Rannoch and that she could just throw the windows open and bask in the fresh air and enjoy the songs of the birds outside for a few minutes. She knew that to most Humans pigeon were ugly pests but to someone who had grown up without seeing or hearing a single bird they held an otherworldly beauty and she loved listening to the sounds they made.

Tali had just made it over to the wardrobe where her suits hung when she noticed the light flashing on her Omni-Tool that indicated that she had a message waiting. It was from her husband. She smiled to herself. She knew he wouldn't be able to leave with out sending her the usual "Last night was wonderful,sorry I had to run,have a great day,and I love you." message. Tali decided it would keep for now. Since she was already out of her suit and the room was sealed she choose to indulge in a hot shower before finally putting on her suit and facing the day ahead.

The hot water felt amazing on her skin. Showers were something Humans and most other races took for grated but up until a few years ago Quarians could rarely partake of. Tali thought about the fact that there was an inter generation of Quarians growing up back on Rannoch that were taking this wonderful activity for granted. It was a small thing but it was yet another unbelievable thing John had done. She was sure he would say she was just as big a part of it as he was but she knew she would have never been able to bring peace between the Quarians and the Geth and that was what had led to Quarians now being able to walk about without suits on their own home world.

Tali finished her shower and finally put her suit on. She couldn't wait for the emergencies they were facing and the current session of the counsel to conclude. Tali wanted to be back in their real home. She wanted to be out of her suit and only worrying about the kind of things every family worried about. Some days she wished John would just quit and they could just retire and enjoy their children and the wonder of the vast open spaces of Rannoch. Of course she knew he couldn't do that. Even if he could he would stop being the man she loved if he did. It all went back to something John's father had said to him once. That combined with him seeing first hand what happened when people didn't listen to his father's lesson made him unable to stand by and do nothing about other people's problems. It was one of the things that she loved most about him. It was funny in some strange and somewhat sad way that one of the things she loved best about her husband also kept her from being able to fully enjoy their time together.

"_Oh well. No one ever said life would be perfect and it is a lot better then it could be. Feeling sorry for yourself because it isn't perfect will not do anyone any good." _Tali thought to herself as she finished putting her suit on.

Tali then opened the message on her Omni-Tool. It started in the way all John's messages to her did. There were expressions of love and little jokes that were just between them but then the tone changed and Tali had to take a seat on the edge of the bed as she read the rest. What she got to the end all she could say was "Oh Keelah." under her breath. "_Would those Cerberus Bosh'tets ever kill enough people_?!" She thought to herself. She wanted to scream but she calmed down. Screaming and getting upset would not help anything and seeing her so upset was not what the kids needed to wake up to. She decided to focus her energy on what John had asked her to do and find the answer to what Object alpha was. She also decided that she would give him the help that he hadn't asked for but she knew he would need.

Tali knew her husband would blame himself for not stopping this somehow. She knew the Counsel would be putting him under a lot of stress. She also knew that because of his past and having to do his job he would be having to focus on the worst of the news. She couldn't let herself get depressed. When he came home he would need her to be a rock for him,even if he would never admit or ask for it. If he knew what she was thinking he would feel like he had failed her in some way and be weighed down even more. Tali was not let herself get depressed. She would be a cheerful rock for him when he got home. As he said in the note there was nothing she could do about this problem so she wouldn't let herself think too much about it. When he came home she would make sure that despite himself his mind was taken off of the troubles of the galaxy. Tali may not have been able to do anything about the attack but she was very good at cheering her husband up and in the end that may turn out to be just as important as any battle and it was something only she could do so she would do it. She decided to face this problem with the same determination and force of will she had faced all the problems of the Reaper War with. _She would not let John Shepard fall into a state of depression!_

Tali then made a call letting her Spectre guards know that they should pick her up in an hour. She then made her way down to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee and started to make breakfast. She of course didn't have to prepare meals or do any other housework she didn't want to. She and john could easily afford to hire people to do these sorts of things for them. Between the pay for the jobs they had now,hazard pay from the war,and royalties for everything that had their faces and names on it or was based on their live John and her were very well off. Tali liked doing these little chores because it made her feel normal. Neither she or John liked having a lot of extra people around the house. In fact if it was not a question of safety they wouldn't even have the C-SEC guards around. Doing these little things gave Tali a sense of peace and it was something average that no amount of trouble in the galaxy could take away from her.

"Kids,Breakfast is ready!" Tali called out.

In a moment the kitchen was a whirlwind of activity and noise that rivaled any battlefield. There were arguments between the children. Talk about what everyone had to do to day. Warnings from Tali to listen to what officer Munna and the other C-SEC guards said. Then of course there was all of the children talking at once about everything from Teddy Bears,to Baseball,to video games. Then as suddenly as the meal had begun it ended and everyone raced off to begin their days. Finally it was time for Tali to leave. She felt a little sad as she closed the front door behind her and met her guards. Yes,breakfast and things like it were completely insane but she would like to spend more of her time in that insane world. Still life was pretty good and she got into the car with her guards and left for work.

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Branson had convinced a reluctant Miranda Lawson to go home so she could shower and change clothes before her meeting with President Shepard. Miranda's quarters where only a few minutes away from SPECTRE C&C but she didn't like leaving the office for even a few minutes. She was quick. She got clean and put on a new jumpsuit and began making her way through her sparten living room to the door when she saw her. It was her sister Oriana who was coming out of the guest bedroom. She was ten years younger then Miranda and looked somewhat like her except she was a little shorter and her eyes were a different color. Here baring was also different then that of her older sister,she wasn't as weighed down by the world. Miranda had done her best to protect her from the horrors she herself had seen. It had not always worked but if there was one thing Miranda was proud of that she had done with her life it was that she had made sure Oriana had as close to a normal life as she could give her. Oriana had a family and knew how to be happy,not just survive. Right now the young university student was standing in front of Miranda in her loose fitting pajamas rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning.

"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Miranda said as she tried to step around her sister but Oriana took half a step to the right and blocked her. "No,I am glad you did." She responded with a yawn. "I really have not seen you since I came to visit and I want to talk."

"I really don't have time for this." Miranda said curtly again trying and failing to step around her sister. "_Stubbornness must be in our genes."_ Miranda thought to herself.

"I am worried about you." Oriana said and there was a hint of true concern in the younger woman's voice that Miranda could not ignore. "I am fine,I just am busy there is a lot going on." Miranda said again trying to end this conversation and get out.

"We both know that is a lie." Orian said and she crossed her arms and gave Miranda a stern look. "You haven't been home since I got here last week."

"Look I am sorry." Miranda said finally looking her sister in the eye and trying to convince her that there was nothing wrong. "But there have been some problems and I had to work,I know this isn't how you planned to spend your vacation but I have an important job. Once this emergency is over I will make it up to you." Miranda hoped this would be enough and she would finally be able to leave.

"This isn't about my vacation or me!" Oriana said raising her voice. Now normally this would be the point when Miranda pushed past someone and walked out but she couldn't do that to Oriana. Her sister was the only person who she was truly close to so she had to listen to the rest of the rant. "When was the last time you ate a full meal? When did you last sleep through the night? You are running on coffee and I bet if a doctor was to check you out he would find you have been using stem pills at a greater then recommended dose! Look at yourself,you are a wreck!"

"Look Oriana how I have to live my life doesn't concern you,but the fact is things have been a little crazy around here lately and that is all!" Miranda was now getting a little angry. "I'm sorry but right now people need me and I thought you were mature enough to understand that."

"First off how you live your life has to concern me because you looked out for me all those years and now you have no one except me to look out for you." Oriana replied,things were getting heated now and Miranda wanted nothing more then to run. "Second it's not just the past week or so it's your whole life. Look at this place." Oriana waved her left arm indicating the rest of the apartment. "Besides a few pictures of me there is nothing personal here. Whenever I call you all we talk about is my life I never hear about yours."

"That's because my work is classified and I can't talk about it,I really need you to understand that." Miranda responded,she was running low on patiants now.

"Don't you see that is the problem?!" Oriana asked and there was something of a pleading tone to her voice. "You have nothing to talk about besides your work. You don't have a life. You exist for your job and once it is gone you will have nothing."

"I thought I had you." Miranda said now on the attack accusing her sister.

"Of course you will always have me." Oriana said gently not rising to the bait and changing the subject. "But you need more then just a sister you see every once in a while and a job you hide behind. I don't know what you are afraid of but other people have lives and you should have one too." All this was too much for Miranda and she finally pushed past her sister and made her way to the door. Oriana shouted after her. "You once told me I should have a real life and that I deserved to be happy the same goes for you big sister. Please I just want you to have what you gave me." Miranda could tell that there was a tear in Oriana's eye from the tone of her voice and she couldn't bring herself to look back,she just dashed out the door and closed it behind her.

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Shepard didn't have to wait for his round table to assemble. When he got to his office they were already there waiting for him. Shepard noted that some of them looked as tired as he was. He was not sure but to him Jacob looked a little hung over. Shepard hoped he was wrong,he knew that was the last thing his friend and his friend's kids needed at the moment. Taking comfort in the bottle would only make things worse for all of them in the long run. Still he didn't have time to deal with that now,he needed to get down to business because the Counsel was waiting for him.

"So what do we know?" Shepard asked the room.

"Well the Attack began about two hours ago." Miranda answered looked at some notes on her Omni-Tool. "It looks like six cities were hit and the fifth fleet then began pulling out about half an hour ago."

"The Citadel Counsel second fleet will be at Dukunna in about 90 minutes." Vornas injected. "But it looks like they will be too lat to engage the fifth fleet themselves. Still they will spearhead relief efforts and make sure the planet is not attacked again."

"Okay,Good." Shepard said slowly,he didn't like that the fleet was getting away. "What is being done about catching the Fifth Fleet?"

"All fleets in Citadel space have been alerted and we are moving fleets into all systems that can be reached by that mass relay. We should be engaging them sometime today or early tomorrow at the latest ." Vornas answered.

"It's hard to believe the fifth fleet,Hackett's old command,and the heroes of The Battle of the Citadel could do this." Ashley added grimly.

"Cerberus puts traitors everywhere." Grunt added simply.

"Grunts right." Shepard added. "Cerberus is our real enemy here. Do we have any idea what they were after? They wouldn't just attack a planet and get us after them for no reason there has to have been something important on Dekunna."

"We have no idea we are just now collecting data." Miranda answered. "They took out most of the planet's military installations and then preceded to attack the city largest cities but we have no idea why."

"Do we have an estimate on how many dead?" Counselor Jackson asked grimly.

"It looks like they are in the ten thousand range." Miranda answered. The room was silent for a few seconds after that.

"That makes it the single greatest loss of life on any Counsel world since the end of the reaper war." Jackson finally said.

"Yes and we have no idea why it happened." Shepard said banging his fist on the desk.

"I think I may Skipper." Ashley said taking a look at her Omni-Tool. "A few ships broke off in the middle of the attack and landed troops at a country estate outside of one of the cities. It was the only non military and non city target attacked so I have had some people looking into it."

"_Damn it!" _Miranda thought to herself. "_How did I miss something so basic! It's my job to catch those types of things!"_

"Well there doesn't seem to be much special about the estate but someone may have just gotten there." Ashley continued. "On a hunch I checked and it seemed that the V.I program here on the citadel that confirms SPECTRE statis was activated just over an hour before the attack. Space traffic control wanted to confirm that statis of a SPECTRE,it was Garrus sir."

This got a look of concern from Shepard. "You are saying he landed at this estate?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah it looks like he went."

"Do we know what happened to him?"

"I'm sorry Skipper but we don't. The house was attacked and we have no idea what happened." Ashley answered. She didn't like delivering this news and everyone could tell it hit Shepard like a ton of bricks but he kept it together.

"Do we know what he was working on that could have gotten Cerberus interested in him?" Shepard finally asked.

"No idea." Miranda answered. "He was supposed to be looking for a way into Asari space. He must have found something on Omega that led him to Dakunna."

"I don't understand what he could have found about my people that would be so important to Cerberus." Samara said. The Justicare spoke up for the first time.

"Whatever it was it must be big." Shepard said. "We need to find Garus and fast."

"Or the remains of him and his ship." Miranda added.

"No!" Shepard said firmly raising his voice. "If anyone could make it it would be Garrus. He is alive and we need to find him."

"Speaking of things Cerberus wants do we have any idea what Brynn was after yet?" Miranda asked turning to Jacob.

"Not yet." Jacob answered and there was a lifelessness in his voice. "It's a lot of data to go through it's going to take a while."

"I have had a thought about how that could be sped up." Shepard said. "Jacob I want you to take the records of every case C-SEC has worked since you took over plus the records of everything your security code was used for to the Normandy and have EDI work through them with you. If anyone can figure out what it is that sands out and find a pattern it's her."

Jacob didn't respond with anything more then a simple "Yes,sir."

"Well I think that just about covers everything we need to go over right now." Shepard said.

"I think there is one thing you should be aware of." Samara said. "Counselor T'Lok had a private meeting with the Elcor counselor about ten minutes after news of the attack broke."

"Oh." Shepard said raising an eyebrow. "Have you been keeping tabs on her?"

"Yes,I have." The Justicare answered simply.

"I see do we have any idea what they talked about?" Shepard asked.

"I believe she is trying to convince him that if the fleet had not been human you would have done more to prevent the attack." Samara said.

"Okay so it's just he petty way of trying to get revenge." Shepard said. "I'll deal with that when it comes up. Now if you excuse me I have to go and meet with the counsel." Shepard then left his office and began mentally preparing for the meeting that was ahead of him. This was going to be a long day.

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The first thing Tali did when she entered the Object Alpha chamber was ask for a report.

"Well we finally finished replacing all the equipment since you didn't want anything in here that may have tampered with." The older human answered.

"Good." Tali said. It had taken long enough and every minute since then Tali had been afraid they would run into some secret booby trap that had been left behind.

"In the past few hour something really remarkable has been happening." continued showing quite a bit of excitement as he let Tali to Object Alpha. "Different points all over the object have been lighting up for the past few hours. Once in a while a little dot of light will just light up on the globe here for just a second or two and then it will go dark!"

"Interesting." Tali responded thoughtfully. "Is there anything else?" She could tell by the look on 's face that there was.

"Yes,there is. Each time those lights go off the object has send some sort of short transmission we can't understand."

"Like it is signaling something or someone." Tali finished his sentence for him.

"Exactly!" The doctor replied snapping his fingers.

Tali then decided to venture a theory. "What if like the Citadel this object was at the center of a network of some kind and it has been trying to single over objects like it?"

"You mean there could be more of these out there?!" asked. The old man was barely containing his child like glee.

"Yes,and some of them have been found. That would explain why someone would want control of this object." Tali knew that they had work to do no she had to find a way to get inside the object. They needed to know what made it tick.

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Officer Munna of C-SEC took her job as head of security for the Shepard family very seriously. Still compared to a lot of the other things she had done in her long service with C-SEC the day to day was somewhat easy. It mostly consisted of double checking things and walking around seeing things for herself. Most days she just had to keep an eye on the kids,made sure nothing strange showed up on the scanners,and make sure everyone else was where they were supposed to be. Still she covered each of these steps in detail each time,nothing slipped by her.

That was why she was headed into the living room now. Officer T'cla a young Asari who was supposed to be in the upstairs hallway was instead in the living room chatting with another Asari officer. Officer T'mishi was about 100 years older then the other officer but the two seemed to have become fast friends. Still there was no excuse for being off your post when your job was to guard the children who were upstairs.

"T'cla,Why are you not at your post?!" Munna demanded. The response she got was not what she expected.

"This is for the Asari!" The younger Asari said and then she and the older Asari kissed. There seemed to be a spark where their lips met. The room was then filled with a deafening noise and the smell of fire and burnt flesh. Munna was knocked to the floor by the explosion.

Munna must has past out for a second. Coming to the first thing she was aware of was that her face was wet. The floor was covered with water,dead fish,and pieces of furniture. Munna also saw that the room was full of C-SEC guards all in defensive positions. There was nothing left of the two Asari.

Munna didn't have any more time to think. She got up right away and ran upstairs while putting her right hand to her earpiece.

"This is officer Munna." She said in a firm commanding voice. "Security X-Delta-449645-Tango. This a code Red! I repeat this is a code red! There has been an attack on the first residents,we are moving the first family now! Have escorts ready! Normandy stand by!"

When she got upstairs she found that all the kids had been moved to the safe room and the guards were gathered around it. She took a minute to make sure she was calm before entering the room. She didn't want to panic the kids. She entered the room and was met with a lot of scarred voices and questions. All of them along the lines of what had happened and why couldn't they leave this room.

"Children We can't talk right now but I need you to be very brave." She said in a calm controlled tone that seemed to help. "I need you to quickly and quietly follow me to the car. When we walk through the living room I need you to just follow me and look straight ahead and not look around. Do you understand? Don't look around the room." The three of them nodded and Munna was glad they had calmed down. She hoped they would obey and not see any of what was left of the two Asari guards.

Munna took the lead with Rael behind her. The guards that were outside the room covered them. Before going downstairs Munna made sure Raan had Pabilo her teddy bear. They then made their way downstairs slowly and carefully. At one point when they reached the living room Munna heard Rael say to Raann "Don't look around officer Munna told you not to!" and a soft "Okay." came in reply.

Before heading out the door Munna checked all of the security feeds to make sure there was not an ambush waiting for them outside. As far as she could tell it was clear so she signaled for the group to begin heading outside. They carefully made their way to the car and before they got in Munna scanned it with her Omni-Tool to make sure there were no explosives or tracking devices attached to it. She then signaled for the kids to get in the back seats and buckle their safety belts. They were talking to each other the whole time but they were not panicing and that was something. They were very scared but they had run drills for this before so the kids were keeping control of themselves.

Munna then got in the drivers seat of the armored car. Given what had just happened she was not going to trust this job to anyone else. She then slammed the doors shut and took off.

"Everything is going to be okay kids." Munna said turning back to look at them. "We just need to go to the Normandy for a while,Okay." We was answered with course of Okays. "When we get to the docking bay I need the three of you to stay together no matter what and do exactly what I say when I say it. Oh and Raan."

"Yes Ma'am." The little girl answered.

"You need to hang on to Pabilo and keep him with you,do you got that."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Okay good,you all do that and everything will be fine."

A moment latter the car was met by it's escorts,there were a dozen of them. A combination of gunships and C-SEC patrol cars with sirens blaring. Munna then gunned the engine and surrounded by the escorts she had the car move as fast as it could to the docking bay.

Only one car at a time could enter the docking bay so once they got there Munna had to leave their escort behind. She looked down at the landing platform as she angled the car for a landing. She saw a large group of C-SEC guards there. Hopefully the worst was over. Just as the car landed there was a huge explosion that rocked the whole landing pad. The children were screaming.

"Is everyone alright?!" Munna asked.

"Yes!" came the replies but the kids were still very scarred. Munna looked around. The right side doors of the car had been nearly blown off. She couldn't see any other C-SEC officers alive. She them looked to the right and saw that from that direction a team of what looked like Asari commandos were approuching the car. She turned to the kids. "I need you to quietly get out of the left hand side of the car and then stay behind the car and me. Now!" The children did as they were told,too scarred to do anything else. Munna then got out of the car as well. She switched her pistol and Matock assult riffle to disruptor ammo and fired a few shots from behind the cover of the smoldering car. Her shots went through the shields and barriers of one of the commandos and struck her in the head. "_That should give them something to think about!"_

Munna then got on her com. "I need back up now I am facing five Asari commandos,Back up is needed now!" But she was met with nothing but static. She then looked over at the elevator door and saw that the control panel was flashing red. _"Great! It had been jammed so no help was coming that way!" _It was all up to her now.

Munna saw that one of the commandos was trying to flank her and go around the car. Munna got up and tossed a grenade at her. She lit up but it looked like her barrier held. Munna was then hit by serval shots fired by the other commandos. Her shields and armor protected her,and she got off a few more shots,hitting the lead commando in the foot.

Munna was then knocked down by a biotic field. She got up just in time to see the flanking Asari get around the car and grab Rael. Munna could not use her gun so she did the only thing she could think of . She lunged at the Asari. At the same moment Rael managed to get one of his hands free and used it to remove his face mask,he then bit down hard on her hand,drawing blood. The Asari dropped the boy and was going for her pistol when Munna hit her full force slamming her to the floor. The Asari was about to let loose with a biotic throw when Munna formed a large blade with her Omni-Tool and sent the Asari's head flying over the car. The rest of the body slumped lifeless to the ground.

Munna was then hit with a biotic field from behind. She was pinned helplessly to the ground and force to listen to the sounds of the screaming children being taken. As soon as shoe could she got up and gave chase. She saw that the Asair were carrying the kids to a shuttle at the far side of the landing bay. Their backs with to her so she drew her pistol and began firing. The shots didn't bring the commandos down but they did slow to fire back. Munna was hit twice in the chest but she kept going through sheer force of will.

The commandos reached the shuttle and shoved the kids in before getting in and closing the doors. Munna fired several shots into the engines and took them out. _ "At least those bastards can't get away now!" _

It was then that there was a bright blue flash of energy that knocked Muuna to the ground. The last thing she saw before darkness took her was that somehow the shuttle was no longer there. She had failed.

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Shepard had been in the middle of the counsel meeting with a large group of C-SEC guards and SPECTREs had entered and practically dragged him away and put him in the car he was now in. The car was headed to the Normandy under heavy escort. All the guards would tell Shepard was that there had been an attack and both his wife and kids were safe and headed to the Normandy too. Shepard did not like this one bit. He was fuming that grateful his family was safe. In the end that was all that mattered to him at the moment.

It was then that he was puzzled by the fact that he got a call on his Omni-Tool that he couldn't block. The last person who's face he wanted to see appeared on his Omni-Tool's view screen. It was Aria T'Loak.

"Shepard." She said with a smug grin on her face. "I took the liberty of hacking your Omni-Tool because I know you will want to hear what I have to say."

"What is it?" Shepard asked not hiding the contempt that he had for the woman.

"It's just that I have your little bastards and unless you do exactly what I say I will kill them."

**Well that is chapter 18. Again sorry it took so long but it took me this long to get my meds sorted out and it is very hard for me to write without them. You have all been so supportive and I hate making you wait but the good news is that now that my meds are completely sorted out after Christmas up dates will start coming every week again. Hope you liked this chapter. Please leave a review. Merry Christmas!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Shepard felt his world falling apart. Aria was gloating while making her demands but Shepard didn't hear any of it. His mind was in another place.

"_Was he cursed?!" _This was Mindoir all over again. In an instant all of his hopes for the future had been smashed and all that was left was a gaping hole. He suddenly felt empty and spent. He had not felt anything like this since the dark days that followed the raid on his home colony where he lost his family. Now it had happened again,he had lost his family and this time it was his fault for provoking Aria. He saw he smug face on his omni-tool's view screen and he wished he could reach right through it and strangle her to death. Aria must have been able to read what he was thinking just by looking at his face because her next words addressed the one thing Shepard most wanted to do.

"Don't think of doing anything foolish like coming after me." She said in a tone that with it's gentle calmness mocked Shepard's anger and pain. "If I don't check in with my people regularly,they have orders to kill your little brats." She put a bit of en edge on that last word to show she meant business.

Shepard steeled himself and let a stern look pass over his face. He knew what he had to do if he wanted any chance of seeing his kids alive again. He had to let Aria know that she did not have all the power,he had to say the next words with out showing any emotion.

"I will not make any deals with you." He said cold and evenly. "Until I have spoken to my children and know for a fact that they are alive and unharmed."

"Of course." Aria answered in the same sweet mocking tone as before. "I expected nothing less. Stand by for a com signal some time in the next few hours."

With that the Omni-tool's view screen went dead. This left Shepard with nothing to do but sit and think and worry until his car reach the docking bay the Normandy had been moved to after the attack where Shepard now knew his kids had been grabbed. He didn't know what was happening to them. "_What horror is that bitch subjecting them to."_ Was a thought that kept looping over and over again in his mind. He could just imagine them screaming in terror as they were rushed out of the house and then attack when they were just in sight of safety. The images his mind came up with were among the most horrible and heart breaking he had seen in his life. He could not stand thinking about it but at the same time he couldn't stop himself.

"_Damn it! I am their father I should have been there protecting them. Instead I was arguing with the fools on the counsel when they needed me! This is all happened because of what I did on the counsel and because I was there instead of where they needed me!" _Shepard admonished himself. He had never felt so guilty in his life. He didn't know how he was going to be able to look Tali in the eye and tell her this. For the first time in his life he had completely failed. What made it worse was that it was at the thing that should be the most important thing in his life. Shepard felt utterly broken when he car landed at the docking bay. The only thing that was keeping him going was that he wasn't about to let someone else tell Tali what had happened. She deserved to hear it from him no matter how much it hurt to do it.

When he got on board the Normandy he ran ahead of his guards and didn't stop to talk to anyone as he made a dash for the elevator. Jacob tried to stop him. Jacob was holding something in his hand and seemed to really need to say something but Shepard could not stop. He needed to talk to Tali now before he was too broken to keep his calm. This was his fault and he didn't have the right to break down over it. He had stay strong for her and do whatever it took to get the kids back from the monsters who had taken them.

Finally after what seemed like hours the elevator reached deck one. Shepard took a couple of deep breaths to calm and steady himself and then he stepped into his and Tali's quarters.

When Shepard entered the room Tali was pacing between the wall and the end of the couch. He could tell she was nervous because she was wringing her hands in that way that she always did when she was worried about something. When she heard him come in she rushed over to him. He met her half way inside the room.

"John,what is going on?" Tali asked in a voice that was full of fright. "All I know is that the Spectres grabbed me and brought me here and I can't find the kids. No one was able to tell me anything,what happened?"

Shepard couldn't look Tali in the eyes as his answered her. There was just no way. Instead he motioned for her to take a seat on the edge of the bed and he began pacing back and forth as he tried to answer her question the best he could.

There are no words to describe the storm of conflicting emotions that raged inside Tali as Shepard told her what had happened. The one that won out when Shepard was finished was rage. Rage in it's most pure and untempered form. She was going to take action.

"That little Bosh'tet!" She shouted as she stood up and slammed her fist into her hand. "This is the last mistake she will ever make. I'll blow her brains out myself! One way or another She dies!" It was then that she looked over Shepard's shoulder and noticed Jacob standing back by the door respectfully. He hand something in his hand and when Tali saw what it was her rage was instantly replaced with fear.

"So it was Aria." Jacob said as he walked towards Shepard and Tali. When he reached them he handed Tali what was in his hand. "I knew we should have killed her back on Omega."

Tali just looked at the object in her hand and then said quietly. "John do you see what this is?"

"Yeah I can see it." Shepard answered and all the life had left his voice at this point. Tali on the other hand was building up into a state of panic.

"It's Rael's faceplate! Where ever he is he is not protected! He could be hurt and now he is getting exposed to all sorts of alien germs. This is the type of thing that kills most Quarean children. We don't have much time we have to get him back,now!" and then she slumped down on the bed grasping the faceplate crying.

"Oh Keelah. Oh Keelah." She began quietly sobbing to herself.

Shepard got down on the bed beside her and put his arms around her. "Listen to me Tali,I promise I am going to do whatever it takes to bring them back and Rael will be all right." He then used his hand to gently left her face so she was looking at him. "They know that they have to keep him alive or they can't get what they want. I am sure they will do everything that can be done to keep him from getting sick. Slowly Tali stopped crying and sat up. She then looked at Jacob and asked in a somewhat weak voice between sniffles. "How did this happen?"

Jacob then became all business. He had a lot of his own pain from what had happened to him recently but he knew someone had to stay professional and right now these two he was talking to were not the Shepard and Tali who had saved the galaxy. They were just two frightened parents who didn't know if they would ever see their kids again. In this situation he couldn't be the one to break down.

"As far as we can tell two of the guards from C-sec were coated in some sort of bio-explosive." He said in an even tone not showing much emotion.

"But the scanners should have picked that up." Tali protested.

"Well from what we can tell each of their bodies were coated in half of the compound and on it's own each half is inert."

"So there was nothing to detect until they touched and by then it was too late." Shepard said glumly.

"Exactly." Jacob continued. "When officer Muuna landed at the docking bay there was another explosion. It seems the car and the docking bay landing pad were both coated in a similar substance."

"Then the explosion took out the guards." Shepard was again finishing Jacob sentence. He had a highly trained military mind that five years as a civilian had done nothing to dull. He was able to put pieces together easily.

"Then Munna was ambushed by a group of Asari commandos." Jacob said going on.

"How did they get on the Citadel in the first place?" Tali demanded.

"Well" Jacob said sounding a little ashamed. "According to C-Sec records I granted Aria permission to add these commandos to her private security force about two month ago."

"Let me guess. It was Bryyn using your security codes." Shepard said,it was not a question.

"It looks that way." Jacob said and there was shame in his voice.

"That also explains how they got into the docking bay and got access to the evacuation plans." Shepard said in a matter of fact manner. Then he looked at his old friend. "Jacob this wasn't your fault,it was mine. I should have been there and I wasn't. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

"Look it was my job to run security. There is nothing you can say that will change that. So you yeah it was my fault." Jacob responded.

Tali then stood up and spoke firmly to both men. "Listen to me. This is no one's fault except the monsters who did this. Do you two understand that? Well do you understand?!" After a few moments of silence both men nodded. Then Shepard spoke.

"What happened to Muuna and how did they get the kids off of the Citadel and past the fleets?"

"Muuna was taken to Huerta Memorial. She took down three of the commandos but she was in pretty bad shape. Don't know much else right now. She wasn't awake when we got to her and she had lost a lot of blood. As for how the commandos got off of the Citadel they seem to have used the same means that Cole used to get away. There was an energy spike near their shuttle and then they were gone."

"So no chance of finding them." Shepard said sadly.

"Doesn't look like it will happen." Jacob admitted.

"So now we know there is a connection between Cerberus and Aria." Tali said.

"Yeah,I guess she must hate you more then she hates Cerberus for kicking her off of Omega." Jacob said looking at Shepard.

"I am not so sure." Shepard responded. "So far Cerberus has done a good just covering up their involvement in all of this. Aria may know she has some humans on her side but she may not know they are Cerberus. At any rate I have an idea that I think should tell us if she knows when she calls."

"John please don't do anything that will put the kids in danger." Tali pleaded.

"Don't worry I will not." Shepard said looking at Tali. "But we need to know just how deep Aria is in all of this. We need to know if she has any connection to Cerberus. If she is working with them of her own free will I don't think doing what she says will get the kids back."

"Speaking of Cerberus I think EDI and I found something." Jacob said.

"What did you find?" Shepard asked. Glad to be able to talk about something else for the moment. Until Aria called there wasn't anything he could do so he needed to think about something else.

"Jacob had to tell me about then Object Alpha Project in order for our looking through all the computer logs he brought to me to be productive." It was EDI's voice coming over the speakers. Shepard had to wonder and not for the first time just how much ease dropping the A.I did.

"What did you find?" asked Shepard.

"One of Cerberus' top secret projects when the Illusive Man ran it was buying up artifacts that were found on many worlds from an unknown alien race. Until now I thought that it was the writing on these objects that was important,but take a look at these objects." A moment latter a picture of one of the objects appeared on the view screen.

"John that looks like a small versions of Object Alpha." Tali said pointing at the screen.

"Exactly." EDI said. "I believe that whatever Object Alpha does these do the same thing on a smaller scale."

"That makes sense." Tali said thoughtfully.

"How many of these did Cerberus recover?" Shepard asked.

"At least three hundred that I know about." EDI answered.

"So if Object Alpha is used to move objects across space somehow Cerber could have any number of ships with the ability to do that. It could also explain how two shuttles have disappeared right from under our noses." Shepard said.

"If they have some way to travel much faster then light with out the mass relays,then we are now completely out matched." Jacob pointed out.

"We have to get a hold of one of these objects and figure out how it works." Shepard said.

"But how do we do that when Aria has our kids?" Tali asked fearfully.

"I don't know but somehow we have to." Shepard said taking a seat on the couch. Tali could tell that the stress of everything was starting to get to him.

"Jacob could you leave us alone until the call comes in?" she asked.

"Of course" Jacob said and with that he walked out the door.

Tali then sat down beside Shepard and put her arms around him. "We will get them back. You have never failed at anything before and I know you will not fail at this." She said to him. Shepard didn't respond. He just looked at the floor and put an arm around Tali. They sat there together silently. Holding on to each other like they were piece of driftwood in the rough ocean that had become their lives. For the first time since the war they were both afraid of what the future would bring.

**Well that was Chapter 19. Now that the chaos of Christmas and New years is over with updates will be coming two or three times a week. Thanks for sticking with me through the delays. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for your time and please leave a review.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Kasumi stepped out of the shower and put on a human unisex jump suit she had found. She guessed Garrus had it for human prisoners he picked up. It was a little pick on Kasumi but it was better then her old blood stained clothes. She then made her way to the room she had claimed as her quarters for her stay on the Victory and tried to sleep. She tossed and turned for a while unable to get her brain to turn off. She just kept thinking about everything that had happened recently. At last her body won and she drifted off to sleep.

She didn't know how long she slept but she was awoken my the voice of Maelon coming over the ship's speaker system.

" ,would you please come to the cargo bay. please come to the cargo bay right away."

Kasumi yawned and slowly got up. She made her way to the cargo bay where she found Maelon and Adril waiting for her.

"Good you are here." Maelon said. He spoke in the quick almost cold manor most Salairians did. "I hate having to repeat myself so I wanted to update you both on the Turrian's condition at the same time."

"His name is Garrus." Kasumi said pointedly crossing her arms across her chest.

"His name doesn't matter to my job. I find that many people give false names any way. There is no reason that his name should matter to me. Now do you want to know about your friend's condition or not?"

Kasumi looked like she was about to say something that would take things off track again but Adril butted in and spoke before she could.

"Gratefully:Yes please tell us how he is doing."

"Well I am pleased to tell you that I have repaired the bones and with some rest he should make a full recovery. He will however walk with a limp and may even need a cane for a while because of pain issues while his bones finish healing. Still I believe he will have full function in a few weeks time." Maelon said seeming rather pleased with himself.

"Well that is good news,thank you." Kasumi said taking a breath. She was too pleased with this news to continue the earlier argument.

"Yes it is." Agreed Maelon. "If you had waited to get him attention or had taken him to a less skilled doctor the internal bleeding would have killed him. You did well bringing him to me in such a timely fashion." He didn't mean to brag,he was just stating facts the way most members of his race did. It just so happened that in this case the facts made it sound like he was bragging. His voice then became stern. "Now would you mind telling me where we are and why my clinic was attacked shortly after you showed up there?"

"That is kind of a long story." Kasumi said.

"Well I have time and I believe I have a right to hear it." Maelon said still sounding very stern.

"Okay,but I warned you." Kasumi said with a sigh. She then proceeded to tell him the whole story. From the time she was hired to steal the statue,to here showing up at Maelon's clinic to get help for Garrus. When she finished Maelon was silent for a few moments,he was thinking.

"I believe I can help you understand where we are." He said at last.

"Really?" Kasumi asked in disbelief. "Because I have no idea."

"What you have been describing seems consistant with the ship entering it's own pocket of space time. I would say that the device you have is some sort of space folding engine left behind by a long dead race."

"Confused:Are you sure?" Adril asked. "This all seems highly unlikely to me."

"I have studied the theories." Maelon answered. "It fits the facts and many races believe it is possible. It is simply that no one has been able to figure out how it would be done before now. It seems some other race did."

"Okay well I guess that makes sense even if I don't really understand what you are talking about." Kasumi said.

"Would you mind showing me this genetic data you say you found?" Maelon then asked. "I may be able to tell you what it does. My background is in genetic research."

"Okay,it would be nice to know why so many people have been trying to kill me." Kasumi replied leading Maelon to the computer console at the other side of the room. She then copied a file from her omni-tool and brought it up the computer's display. Maelon only had to look at the screen for a few seconds before he started pacing back and forth,shouting,and shaking his fist in the air.

"No! No! NO! Didn't we do enough damage! Haven't we all suffered enough?! Was everything I did for nothing?! What is wrong with them?!" He was shouting to himself.

Kasumi stepped in front of him and up out her hand to stop him. "Maelon Calm down. What are you talking about? What could be so bad? What is this data?"

"We have to get to the Citadel so this can be exposed." Was all Maelon said.

"Oh no way are we going to the Citadel." Kasumi responded shaking her head. "Do you have any idea how many warrants both C-Sec and Earth have out on me?"

"This is more important then your freedom!" Maelon spat at her.

"What is so important,what is this data?!" Kasumi demanded.

"It's the Genophage." Maelon answered and he was almost ranting now.

"Wait I thought they made a big deal about destroying all Genophage data. The Spectres oversaw the whole thing." Kasumi said shocked.

"It seems someone hid a copy of the data. And now they are not just going to begin again,they are going to wipe out the inter Krogan race."

"Wait What?" Kasumi said clearly confused. "I thought the Genophage only caused a law birthrate,it didn't kill everyone."

"Yes but look at this sequence." Maelon said pointing at the screen. "This will cause every birth to be stillborn. There will be no new live Krogan births if this is deployed. That is why we have to get to the Citadel and warn them before it can be deployed."

"How can you be so sure?" Kasumi asked.

Maelon then became quieter and looked down at the floor. "Because to my shame I worked on the Genophage modification project. We went to a lot of trouble to avoid this result. Yet now someone has done it any way. Now everything I did to make up for my sins is for nothing,the Krogan will be destroyed just as they were starting to recover from our thousand year mistake."

"So you are 100% sure that is what we are looking at." Kasumi asked.

"Yes. I know my work when I see it." Maelon said.

"Then we will have to go to the Citadel." Kasumi said finally after giving the matter some thought.

"Concerned:But Kasumi what will happen to you?" Adril asked.

"I will try to keep myself hidden." Kasumi answered. "But if they find me they find me. If Maelon is right the fate of the inter Krogan race is in our hands and I can't buy my freedom at that price. I'll go set a course for the Citadel."

"Thank you." Maelon said. " I will do everything I can to make sure you are not punished because of this. My sins are much greater then any you could list and you are helping me redeem myself so I will help you redeem yourself."

"Thank you." Kasumi said. She really didn't know what else to say and she then left the cargo bay and made her way to the cockpit. She didn't know what the future would hold for her now but at least she had a good idea of what was going on and what the stakes were. Now she just had to hope luck was on her side. It seemed her past was catching up with her and despite Maelon's words there was going to be a price she had to pay.

**Well that was chapter 20. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for your time and please leave a review.**


	21. An important message from the author

**Well I am sorry to say this but my computer has gotten some sort of virus that no anti-virus software can find. It uses up all the memory on my computer and causes every program I try to run to crash. So I have no idea when I will be able to update this story. I am waiting for a new Netbook I ordered with the last of my money to come in(It's going to be a year or more before I can get a new computer) but it had to be restocked so it will not be here for another month. So it is going to be at least that long before I can up date this story. Sorry guys. Thanks for your support.**


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Oriana Lawson returned to her sister Miranda's apartment sooner then she expected. C-SEC had closed down most of the commons after something had happened at the presidential mansion. By the time she had gotten back the incident had replaced the attack on Dakuuna as the only thing the media was talking about. This despite the fact that they didn't really know anything and were just repeating the same facts,rumors,and public statements over and over again. All that could be said for sure was that there had been a bombing of some kind at the Presidential mansion and The President and his family were safe at an undisclosed location.

Oriana hoped that last part was right. She didn't know the President very well but he had helped her sister to save her twice from their father. First when her father tried to kidnap her away from her family before she even knew who her father was or that she had a sister. The second time she was taken to a secret Cerberus base and she on a planet that was supposed to be a safe haven during the war,but was really a trap laid for civilians. That time she was sure her father was going to kill her because she wouldn't go along with his plans. Miranda was willing to lay down her life to save Oriana but thanks to Shepard she didn't have to. Oriana owed Shepard a lot and she wished there was something she could do to help him at that time. Still then as always it seemed she was stuck on the sidelines with nothing to do not even knowing for sure what was really going on.

Oriana was frustrated. She had hoped to talk to her sister at some point on this trip but she could see that Miranda was not home. Her older sister seemed to work all the time and Oriana needed some of that time. She didn't like to admit it but she needed some guidance and Miradna was the only one who could provide it because she was the only person who was enough like Oriana to have her problem.

The problem was that both she and her sister were designed in test tubes to be perfect. That mean that Oriana's life lacked challenge. She loved her parents and her sister but her life was starting to feel a bit pointless. Everything was too easy. She didn't have to really try at school to get perfect grades since she remembered everything she ever read. If she wanted a date with a boy she knew she could get it since her body was designed to be perfect. When she tried out for sports it only took her a few tries to become a perfect player at any sport because again she was designed to win. Even trying to get a doctorate in alien languages for Oxford was proving pretty easy. Nothing in life was challenging her because of how she was created. Miranda was the only person who could understand this but she had been too busy to talk so far.

Oriana decided to listen to some music. She choose George Gershwin's Rhapsody for piano preformed by the Salarian Felton Jelka. No one kept their instruments in perfect tune like or played with the energy the Salarians.

As the music played Oriana went to check her mail on a computer terminal on a desk in the corner of the living room. She saw she had one message waiting for her. It didn't have any sender information at all. This puzzled Oriana and after trying and failing for about five minutes to trace where the message came from she opened it. The message simply read "You need to figure this out. This is the most important thing you will ever do in your life." There was a large file attached that had a few photo of what looked like large stone balls and hundreds of pages of some strange alien text Oriana had never seen before. Despite this fact there was something about the text that seemed formilar. Oriana pulled up a chair and started taking down notes about the text. Now this was a challenge.

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Miranda Lawson was a having a mixed day at best. On the one hand she was still dealing with the Attack on Dakuuna and how the Fifth fleet had gotten away so fast. She had yet to find any proof if Garrus was dead or alive. A Spectre investigation did not find a body but it had found DNA,so Garrus had been there. However the attackers had taken the hard drives that had all the security footage on them with them when they left so with no one there they had no way of knowing what had happened.

Then there had been the bombing at Shepard's house. There was no excuse for this except for the fact that there had been zero chatter. The commandos who had grabbed the kids worked for Aria so they knew who was behind it all but since she had the kids they couldn't take any direct action against her at the moment. At the moment they were trying to figure out where the kids were being held but so far there was no luck. Miranda couldn't believe how badly she had let Shepard down but the important thing now was to work with what they had and get the kids back and then put that bitch Aria down for good.

However there was one piece of good news. It was not for Shepard but it was good news for the galaxy at large. Here agent on the Hanar homeworld had found the lab where the genophage was being worked on. He had traced a Salarian to the lab and had even gotten a sample out. So now all they needed was proof that it had been given to the Batarians and they could shut off all sources of this threat. So at least one thing was going well. She hated having to talk about something like this when Shepard's mind was distracted by his kids being taken but this needed to be brought to his attention. So after ordering all of Aria's comlines and computers bugged she arranged transport to the Normady and left. She hoped she could think of a way on the way to bring the subject of the genophage up without it sounding like she was asking Shepard to ignore his kidnapped kids.

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"We have to be strong for the kids,we can't let them see that we scared." Shepard said. His arms were wrapped around Tali comfortingly. They were standing in front of the large holoviewer in their quarters on the Normandy. The proof of life call from their children was due any minute. Tali just nodded silently. She couldn't bring herself to speak. Her stomach was doing flip flops,she had never been this scared in her whole life. This was worse then the war,back then if she died she died but now the lives of children she had raised depended on what she and her husband did in the next few minutes. The waiting was making it worse and she wished the call would just start already.

"_what do you say to children whose home has been blown up and who have them been kidnapped?" _Tali wondered to herself. "_How do you convince them that everything is okay and they shouldn't panic when you have already failed to protect them?" _She did not have another second to think about it as the next instance the faces of Raan and Jeff the two children appeared on the screen. They were in some sort of bare room. Looked like it may have been a storage room of some kind,but it could be on a spaceship,a planet,or a moon. There were no sounds or any windows to indicate where they were.

"Mom what's going on?" Raan said loudly with fear in her voice. "Where are we? When are we going home?!" Before Tali could say anything Jeff jumped in almost talking on top of his sister. "They took Rael!" He said woth panic in his voice. "He doesn't have his facemask and they took him somewhere else."

"I know." Tali said trying to remain calm. "Everything will be okay. He will be alright. Just take care of each other and we will have you home soon."

"Okay." Both of the children answered but they didn't sound very sure. This was when Shepard spoke up. "Just remember that your mother and I defeated the Reapers,we will get you home." He said in the same tone of voice that he had used to rally troops back in the darkest days of the war. He sounded sure,as if he was stating a fact and had no fear. Tali knew that it was a mask but it seemed to do the trick in the war and she thought it was working now when suddenly the screen switched to another room.

The room was a sterile with white floors and blue walls. It looked like some sort of medbay or hospital. There was a bed in the middle and on that bed looking non too well lay Shepard and Tali's unmasked oldest son,Rael.

"Mom,Dad." he said weakly. "I tried to stop them but they took Raan and Jeff. I am sorry." He then let out a cough.

"You have nothing to be sorry for you did a good job." Tali said.

"I don't feel good." was all the boy said in reply.

"You are going to be fine." Tali said in sure tone of voice. She didn't know if she believed that but it was the best she could come up with.

"Son" Shepard said gently. "What you did was very brave and I am proud of you. Your mother and I love you very much and we will get you home."

The boy looked like he was going to reply but then suddenly the screen switched to Aria who was sitting in her office.

"Now that the touching family reunion is over with let's talk about what is important." She said in a tone that mocked the couple on the other end of the comline's pain.

"You mean like the fact that you are going to beg for death before I am finished with you?!" Tali said pointing at the screen.

"Really is that any way to talk to the person who is going to get you your dear children back?" Aria asked. She held all the cards and she knew it. This was how she liked doing things,making people craw to her.

Shepard then stepped in before the fight could go any farther. "What is it you want exactly?" He asked. He was careful to keep his emotions in check.

"See now there is someone who cares if he gets his kids back." Aria replied. Tali responded by grabbing a model of an Asari cruiser that was on the shelf and throwing it against the wall,smashing it into a thousand pieces. She then left the range of the viewer and began pacing back and forth between the bed and the couch.

"Quite a temper that suit rat of yours has,I would advise putting it on a leash." Aria said. It was taken every bit of self control Shepard had for him not to lose it and remain calm on the outside. He decided now was the time to drop his bomb and see what happened. Maybe he could get some control over this call then.

"Look just tell me what you and your Cerberus friends want." He said with a sigh, Bull's eye! It was only there for a second but he could tell the moment he mentioned Cerberus Aria was shaken. She got herself back under control almost instantly but Shepard was able to tell that she didn't know Cerberus was involved or she was working with them from the expression that pasted over her face.

"Very well,I want you to sign the order that bans Spectres from operating in Asari space." She said.

"Is that all?" Shepard asked with a scoff.

"No,I also want you to fired Lawson,Williams,and Taylor. You will then appointed in their places people who I choose to do their jobs."

"That would effectively transfer the power of the President to you." Shepard said and there was alarm in his voice now. "The Counsel will never stand for it."

"They don't need to know that I have chosen the replacements." Aria said calmly. "Those are my terms you have 24 hours to comply or your brats will die slowly." With that the screen went blank.

Shepard staggered back into his chair,he looked utterly defeated. The only sound he could her in the room was his wife crying. It seemed that everything he had ever fought for was about to be undone and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was completely powerless.

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Greet Munna fought to wake herself up from her drug and loss of blood induced sleep. She became dimly aware of bright light surrounding her. At first she thought she was dead but when she felt a pain in her shoulder and chest she knew she was very much alive. There was a formless shape hovering over her. It seemed to be saying something about her being safe and needing to go back to sleep. Every part of her body screamed at her to obey but she could not. In the battle between her will and her body her will won out and she forced herself awake. The Salarian doctor who was bending over her looked a little paniced.

Greet didn't take time to indulge him,she got down to business. "Where is the President?" She asked in as firm a voice as she could muster. She forced herself to ignore the pain and brought herself to a sitting position.

"Have no idea." The doctor answered. "You need to lay down and rest. Last I heard president Shepard and his family were safe. You need rest now,I will give you more meds to ease pain so you can sleep."

"_That must mean they made it to the Normandy." _The older human woman thought to herself. Then she noticed the Salarian trying to inject her I.V bag with something. _"Must be a pain killer or sleeping drug." _She thought to herself and reached up grabbing his arm to stop him.

"Not going to hurt you,this will just put you to sleep." The Salarian explained as he tried to break free of her grip but she used all the force she could muster to hold on.

"I can't let you do that." She said making eye contact for the first time. "I have to leave and speak to the president in person,there is something he needs to know." She used the hardest no room to talk about this tone of voice she could muster at the moment.

"I am afraid I can't allowed that,you are too badly hurt." The doctor responded.

"Will I die if I leave this bed?" She asked.

"Not right away but you need time to heal or it could create complications that will kill you latter,as I said as your doctor I can't let you leave this soon after treatment. Now please let me put you to sleep so you can heal." He was pleading with her now.

"I can't let you keep me here,it is my right to discharge myself and I am doing that now. Please bring me my clothes and discharge papers." She said with a clipped tone.

"I can't do tha" Greet then interrupted the doctor. "Unless you intend to hold me here against my will I am leaving NOW!"

"Very well." the doctor replied with a sigh. "I am warning you this is not a good idea."

"I have been warned." Munna replied and then began unhooking herself from the machines.

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On the victory Kasumi sat in the pilot's seat waiting. Maelon was in the engine room with the alien device and she was waiting for him to get the signal from the device and bring them out of folded space or where ever they were. She didn't know what she was going to do once they got to the Citadel besides hide. She really hadn't planned that far ahead. She guessed her best plan would be to book passage on a ship and get out of the Sol system as quickly as she could but she wasn't sure how she was going to do that yet. Still at least all she had to worry about was C-Sec when she got there,and they would not be trying to kill her. Looked at in that way her situation was improving,if only a little.

She was brought out of her thought by the call from Maelon. "Object glowing green,applying power now."

The ship shuttered,there was a flash of blue,and then the endless ocean of red that was outside the viewer was replaced by a large Turian ship that they were about to run into. She pulled the ship up and just barely avoided hitting what she saw was now a Turian battle ship. All sorts of alarms were going off. There were ships everywhere she looked. There were at least a dozen different signals coming over the com but Kasumi didn't have time to respond to any of them. She was too busy trying to avoid slamming into other ships.

She then figured out where she was. The Victory had come out in the middle of one of the traffic lanes for ships waiting to dock inside the citadel's arms. This was bad she had to keep all her attention on flying just to avoid being scattered across space. Then another alarm when off. This one warned her that there were multiple weapons locks on the victory.

"Shit!" She cursed to herself. The citadel fleet must have locked on to them. She needed time to get on the com and sort all of this out. "Well so much for hiding." She said again to herself. Finally she saw a chance. She quickly darted in front of a Krogan ship and then put a large Human transport between the victory and the ships that had weapons locks. She then matched the over ship's speed so that it would stay between them and got on the comm.

She found the channel space traffic control was on and she heard the tail end of them a repeating message asking for her ship's ID and warning that she was about to be fired on. She got on the com.

"This is the Turian transport Victory,hold your fire. We have a Counsel Spectre on board and we need emergency landing clearance."

A new voice came on the com. It sounded like a human female. "Please confirm that there is a Spectre on board or you will be fired on." It was then that Kasumi noticed that two fighters and worked their way through the traffic and were now directly behind the Victory. There was no escape. The she heard a familiar voice coming from behind her. It was weak and there was pain in it but when she turned around she saw him leaning against the copilot's chair.

"This is Spectre Vakarian,call off your ships and clear us for landing."

The female voice then came back on the com. "You are cleared to land at docking bay E12."

Garrus then turned to Kasumi with a small smile and said. "Care to tell me what has been going on while I was out of it."

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Shepard had just finished cleaning up the pieces of the broken model when suddenly the door to his and Tali's quarters burst open and the last person he expected to see barged in,followed by Jacob.

"I am sorry sir I told her to wait but she just came in on a shuttle and came right up here." Jacob explained.

Shepard just looked at the older woman who he could tell was in a great deal of pain and waved Jacob off. Tali had come over and was now standing by his side.

"Greet what are you doing out of the hospital?" Tali asked with concern in her voice.

"I have to tell you something." The older woman said leaning against the wall for support.

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"First just before they set off the bomb the two Asari said that what they were doing was "for the Asari" I don't think anyone involved in this is just a hired thug."

"That's bad." Shepard said thoughtfully.

"How does this change anything?" Tali asked confused.

"Because it means that this may not be about petty revenge or a power play on the counsel. It may be connected to the upcoming Asari civil war. If that is the case then even if we do what we are told we may not get the kids back."

"Oh,no." Tali said taking a step back. Things had just gone from bad to worse. Now her kids were pawns in a war that could break out at any moment.

"Wait there is a chance to get them back." Greet said reaching out for Tali with her right hand. "I managed to slip a tracking device inside the Teddy bear,so if they still have it we can find the kids and rescue them."

Tali then turned to Shepard. "She still had Pablio when we talked to them,she would never let him go!" She said excitedly. "We have a chance to get them back!"

Shepard smiled and then turned to Munna and was about to congratulate her on a job well done when he saw that she had slumped to the floor. She had lost a lot of blood and was not responding.

" medical emergency in my quarter!" Shepard yelled into his omni-tool.

**Well I finally got my computer completely virus free and got open office working again. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I know it bounced all over the place but I had a lot of little loose ends I needed to bring together for what happens in the next chapter and the next phase in the over all story. If you like please leave a review.**


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Garrus walked into the Victory's cargo bay with the help of two thin metal pipes that he used as makeshift canes. Everyone had gathered there and a few minutes earlier the ship had docked at the Citadel. He walked up to the small group of people who had gathered near the large cargo bay doors at the other end of the room.

"So where is everyone headed?" Garrus asked the group.

"I am going to try and find out what happened to ,and then I will go back to Dakunna." Adril answered.

"I am going to go wherever and do whatever I have to in order to stop the Genophage." was all the reply Maelon gave.

"I am just going to try not to get caught by C-SEC and get as far away from earth space as I can." Kasumi said trying to make it sound light.

"I wanted to talk to you two about that." Garrus said clearing his throat and pointing to Maelon and Kasumi. "I am afraid I can't let you two leave yet."

"What?!" Kasumi said turning to Garrus in shock. "After everything we have done for you?!"

"Listen to me." Garrus said trying to calm her down. "I need both of you to testify before the Counsel about this Genophage problem. Maelon I need you as an expert witness to confirm that this is the genophage and Kasumi with out you on the record I have no proof this data was recovered from a Batarian outpost."

"Oh and once you are finished with me I guess I just go off to prison and you expect me to be happy about it." Kasumi said crossing her arms across her chest.

"No!" Garrus said. "Look I am a Spectre I am sure that since you are helping me with something this important I can get the charges against you dropped,you will have a clean record."

"What if you can't get them all dropped?" Kasumi asked giving him a hard look.

"Then I will make sure you get a chance to get away." Garrus said with a sigh.

"Okay." Kasumi said relaxing.

"Now that that is settled let's leave this ship." Adril said. Garrus then pushed a button on his omni-tool and the large cargo bay doors opened.

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Shepard didn't know what else to do so he was pacing back and forth across deck 3 outside the medbay where officer Munna was being treated. Tali was sitting at the crew's mess table nervously twiddling her fingers. Joker was sitting opposite her. He turned in his chair to look at Shepard.

"You know that walking a hole in the deck isn't going to make the doc work any faster right?" Joker said trying to lighten the mood. Shepard ignored him and just continued pacing. It was then that EDI stepped out of the elevator and walked up to the table. Shepard stopped his pacing and turned to face the A.I. "Please tell me you were able to locate the kids using the tracking device Greet put in the bear."Shepard said.

"I have been able to locate them." EDI said. Shepard and Tali both let out the breathes they had been holding.

"Where are they?" Tali asked. She was ready to get going. She didn't care where they were or how dangerous it was,now that she had a location no one was going to stop her from getting her children back.

"They seem to be on a ship or space station in the Orisoni system." The A.I answered.

"That's in Asari space." Joker noted grimly. "Those devices they have must be much faster then a Mass Relay if they got there in this amount of time."

"I don't care where they are or how fast they are I am going to get my kids back." Shepard said slamming his right fist into his left hand.

"The problem is we can't get there in time. Once we do get there nothing is stopping them from just using the device and getting away again. I am sorry to say this but I don't think the Normandy is up for this chase." Joker pointed out sadly. Shepard's face fell and Tali put her head in her hands.

"You are right Joker,we need one of those devices if we are going to have any chance of catching those bastards and getting the kids back." Tali said with a sad sigh.

"Then we are right back where we started!" Shepard said throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

They all just looked at each other trying to think of something that they could do,no one said anything for a few long moments. They were then interrupted by the beep of the ship's intercom. X.O Adams' voice came over it. "Captain there are two shuttles requesting permision to dock with us,it seems there are a few people who want to talk to President Shepard."

"Tell them they can come on board,but have the Spectres in the shuttle to check them out before they are allowed into the rest of the ship." Joker answered.

"Yes sir." came Adams reply and then the intercom went dead.

A few minutes latter the elevator stopped on level three and out stepped Garrus,Miranda,Grunt,Kasumi,Ashely,and Maelon. To say that everyone gathered on deck three was surprised to see some of these people would be an understatement.

"Garrus how did you get here?" Tali asked in amazement. "We heard you were on Dakunna when it was attack."

Garrus limped over to her using the two metal pipes as canes,before he could answer Joker piped in. "Well it looks like I am not the only one who needs help getting around on this ship,maybe we should start a club or something."

"Yeah,well I will not be a lifetime member." Garrus said sitting down in the chair beside Tali. "The doctor here says I will be fine in a couple of weeks." He motioned to Maelon as he said this.

Shepard then gave the Salarian a hard look,he remembered him. "What are you doing here?" He asked the Salarian doctor sternly. This was not a happy reunion.

"I came to give evidence before the counsel to stop the Genophage." The Salarian said simply.

"He also saved my life." Garrus added.

"I see." Was all Shepard said.

"Garrus I think you should tell us all what you have been up to since you last reported in." Miranda said taking control of the meeting.

"Okay but it is a long story." Garrus said with a sigh.

"Then the sooner you start the better." Ashely Williams piped in.

Garrus then spent the next three quarters of an hour telling the room everything that had happened in the past week. Kasumi filled in some of the blanks. Once in a while the odd person piped in with a question but mostly it was just Garrus talking with out interruptions. Then Kasumi spoke up. giving the information on the Asari that she had promised Garrus.

"It seems Aria has been building a power base back in Asari space based on the idea that she is the only one that can restore the Asari to their past glory. She wants to get rid of all pure bloods and the Ardat-Yakshi because she says they are weakening the Asari race. It reminds me a little too much of the stuff Hitler had to say back in world war 2." This reference was lost on most of the aliens who just gave each other confused looks. A thoughtful look past over Shepard's face and then he finally spoke.

"So the Ardat-Yakshi may just be trying to defend themselves." He said quietly to himself.

Garrus then continued and was not interrupted again until he got to the part where he explained the alien device and how Maelon thought it worked.

It was then that Tali interrupted him. "You mean you have one of these alien devices on your ship?!" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah why is it so important?" Garrus asked.

"We will explain in a minute. Miranda send some Spectres to Garrus' ship and have them bring that device here. Tali you work with Ken and Gabby and see if you can find a way to control it so we can use it on the Normandy." Shepard said and for the first time since the attack on his home he didn't feel helpless.

Miranda gave the orders and Tali left the room to go down to the shuttle bay and wait for the device.

"What is so important about this device that it has you so excited?" Garrus asked Shepard. Miranda could tell Shepard was not up to relaying the story of what had happened in the past week to Garrus so she decided to step in and give him the full account in her usual clinical non emotional way. By the time she was done a somber mood had decended over the table like a cloud.

Garrus was the first to speak in a hushed almost broken tone. "Liara dead? I can't believe it."

Shepard just nodded.

"I always assumed she would outlive all of us." Garrus continued. "I can't believe Bryyn was really working for Cerberus this whole time. How is Jacob doing?"

"About as well as you could expect." Was all Shepard said in reply.

"So that is why you need the device,to rescue your kids." Kasumi broke in.

"Yeah I just hope we can get there in time." Shepard's voice was even and unemotional. Hearing all his losses listed in this way had left him in a stunned state of mind.

"Well you are my Battle Master Shepard. So when you go to get them I am going with you." Grunt said speaking for the first time.

"You don't have to do that,this isn't your fight and it could put your standing as a Counsel member at risk." Shepard said.

"Like Hell I don't have to!" Grunt said pounding his large fist on the table shaking it. "You are my Battle Master if I didn't go with you now I would lose the respect of all Krogan. More then that you are my friend and I am not going to leave those kids in the hands of those damned Asari."

"Well then if you are sure thanks." Shepard said with a weak smile. "I'll take all the help I can get."

"I hope you know that you can count on all of us to help you." Miranda said looking at Shepard.

"Thanks." Shepard said and then he switched into his strategic mode. The one where he pushed everything else aside and just started thinking about how to win an up coming fight. He had to forget that he was talking about his family now and just treat this like any other problem to be solved. That was his best chance of seeing the kids again. "Miranda I need you and Jacob to stay behind and keep an eye on Aria. Am I correct in assuming that despite my standing orders not to bug Counsel members and their offices that given what has happened you have bugged Aria?" He asked.

"You would be correct in that assumption. I didn't want here to get anything else over on us." Miranda said.

"Good for you." Shepard said with a wry smile. "Aria will figure out we have left at some point,you and Jacob will have to make sure she can't warn her troops. Do whatever it takes to stop her from making that call."

"What ever it takes?" Miranda asked not fully believing what she was hearing,then again she should have known that Shepard wouldn't let anything stand between himself and his family.

"Whatever it takes." Shepard said gravely looking her in the eye.

It was then that Tali's voice came over the intercom. "We have rigged up a system for controlling the device. It make sure the device is isolated and only gets data we feed it from the computer and power will be applied to it when a command is given on the bridge. Also we have installed a monitor so that you will be able to see on the bridge when it signals that we have arrived."

"Great Job!" Shepard said. "Tell Gabby and Ken that we owe them one."

"Will do." Tali said and the intercom clicked off. To says Shepard was happy would be a misrepresentation but he finally had something he could do about the problems the galaxy was facing and that gave him an energy he had not had in a while.

"Okay if it is alright with you Captain we will leave as soon as we can." Shepard said turning to Joker.

"Fine with me. No sense wasting time." Joker said and EDI came over and helped him stand up. "I'll just get up to the bridge and start getting things ready."

"I should go get Jacob so we can leave." Miranda said.

Okay,everyone not going with us needs to leave with Miranda and Jacob." Shepard said standing up. Maelon left to follow Miranda but to everyone's shock Kasumi stayed seated at the table.

"Kasumi you are not leaving?" Garrus asked a little shocked. "This is going to be dangerous you know."

"I know." Kasumi said with a small smile. "For some reason that I can't explain I feel like I need to stay here. Besides having a hacking expert with a personal cloak could come in handy on this mission." In truth she couldn't explain it but she felt like she would be safer on this ship with Garrus and Tali then she would be on the Citadel.

"Well Thanks then." Shepard said and then he began walking to the elevator. This was it things were moving now. The next day would determine the fate of the Shepard family,and even though they didn't know it yet events were taking shape that would also decide the fate of an inter race. A lot was riding on the next departure of The Normandy.

**Well that was chapter 22. I promise chapter 23 will come in the next few days and now that things have been set up it will be more action packed. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"The shuttle just returned with the last of the supplies the President ordered and it has a passenger on board. An Asari Justicar." Adams reported. He was on the bridge standing behind Joker who was in his usual place,the pilot's seat.

"That will be Samara." Joker said looking back at Adams. "We are ready to go. Now we find out if this device will work."

The Normandy made it's way through the heavy traffic that surrounded Earth. There was still something beautiful about the way the ship moved through the darkness of space. It was a like a sword cutting it's way through the black,light reflecting off of it's hull. Their destination was the far side of Earth's moon. Shepard had decided that it was for the best of the no on on the Citadel or the normal space traffic saw them use the alien space folding device. So they were headed to the far side of the moon where they would not be seen before they used it.

"Okay we have arrived." Joker said when they reached the far side of the moon. "Everyone cross your fingers and hope this works." He then punched in a course for their destination into the special computer that had been set up to control the device. He then hit the engage button. The Normandy was filled with blue energy for a moment and then all that could be seen outside was a sea of red. "Well we are on our way,I guess" Joker said looking out the bridge view screen.

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Jacob had gone home after getting back from the Normandy. He and Miranda had decided to take shifts monitoring Aria's activities and Miranda had taken the first shift. Jacob was not looking forward to what he had to do but he had put it off long enough. He couldn't keep telling his kids John and Sarah that their mother was coming home. It was time to bite the bullet and just tell them their mother was gone. He wasn't feeling good about this. He had yet to make peace with the fact that Bryyn was a traitor himself,he didn't know how to make it okay for the kids. Still he had to be strong for them and that at least gave him some purpose at the moment. He screwed up his courage and then called the kids into the living room.

"What is it dad?" John asked as he and his younger sister entered the room. Before he could answer Sarah piped in. "Is it about mom,why isn't she home."

Jacob let out a heavy sigh and then bent down on his knees so he could look his kids in the eyes. He put a comforting hand on each of their shoulders and when he began to speak it was in a completely even and calm tone of voice.

"Your mother isn't going to be coming home."

"Why what happened?" Sarah asked and tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. Jacob took a second before answering. When he had called the kids in he fully intended to tell them the truth but now that it came to it he couldn't bare to tell them that their whole lives had been a lie. "there was an accedent and I am sorry but she is dead."

"What?" John said disbelief showing on his face.

"So we will never see her again?" Sarah asked.

"Yes I am afraid that is true. You will not see her again but she loved you very much and I am still here." Both children then began to cry.

"It's okay to be sad." Jacob said taking them into a hug. "It's okay we will get through this together,I am not going anywhere." He stayed there hugging his kids for a long time.

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Kasumi found Tali standing in the room where the children stayed when they were on the Normandy. She was just looking at the empty bunk beds. Kasumi walked up behind her and put an arm around her. Tali jumped,startled.

"Sorry Kasumi,I didn't hear you come up." Tali said softly. "I was on my way to the shuttle bay to begin helping Gabby and Ken with adding the new stealth system to it when I had to stop here. I keep thinking that if I look in here I will find them playing and fighting like normal and this will all turn out to be just a bad dream. That's pretty stupid,right?"

"No it's not stupid." Kasumi siad giving her friend a reassuring hug. "It's not stupid at all. None of this should have happened. That is why it is so hard to believe. We will get them back Tali,you have to believe that. They are going to be back in this room soon."

"But what if we don't?" Tali asked gravely. "What if something goes wrong and we lose them forever. I don't think I could take that and I know losing his family again would destroy John. There are so many things that can go wrong. I can't make myself believe that everything will start going right now."

"We will get them back." Kasumi said turning her friend so that she was looking at her. "Shepard and you have done so many impossible things in the past. He isn't going to let anything happen to your kids. Right now you need to go down to that shuttle bay and do what you do best,fix things. So that you will be ready to go get those kids when we find them."

"You are right Kasumi,I need to get to work." Tali said with a sniff,and then turned and began walking slowly out of the room. "Thanks Kasumi you have always been a good friend."

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Shepard found Garrus in the crew lounge. He was seated at the bar working on a bottle of Turian brandy.

"Shepard come in and join the party." Garrus said motioning to the bar stool on his right,his speech was slightly slurred. He then added in a whisper. "Just don't drink the Turian stuff,it's not good for Humans." Then he let out a little laugh.

"What are we drinking to?" Shepard asked sitting down by his friend,grabbing a glass and a bottle of human Scotch.

"Well I was drinking a toast to sweet little Liara." Garrus said turning on his stool to face Shepard. "You remember her right? Nice little blue girl,wasn't good with people,and she liked digging up old stuff."

"Yeah I remember her." Shepard said pouring himself a glass of scotch.

"Good because I think she was the nicest Asari I ever met. She wasn't stuck up like the rest of them." Garrus said taking another drink.

"Yeah she was nice." Shepard agreed. "A little out of her depth at first,but nice."

"Exactly." Garrus said. "Remember when we first met her she had trapped herself in a force field trying to protect herself from the Geth and she couldn't move. She was ou..o...out of her depth as you said. Still she learned quickly and after you died she became hard."

Shepard nodded remembering. He didn't like to think about how closed off and cold she had become when he saw her for the first time after Cerberus had brought him back. She was like a completely different person. Gone was the shy sweet young woman(well young in Asari terms.)and in her place was a cold calculating machine who thought nothing of threatening people to get what she needed. She have buried her love of learning about the past and had replaced it with a grim determination to get things done no matter the cost. He was glad that she had softened again and returned to her first love in recent years. Seeing her like that had just felt so wrong,it made it feel as if the inter galaxy had been turned on it's head.

"Still she got thing done." Garrus slurred butting into Shepard's thoughts. "She took down the shadow broker and I don't think we would have won the war with out her."

"Yeah that is true." Shepard said with a sad smile. "She was a good friend."

"Yup that she was." Garrus agreed his speech becoming more slurred. "She was with us from the beginning and stayed with us to the end. She never seemed to think about running away. She deserved better then to be murdered by some damn traitor. Stupid Cerberus bitch."

"Yeah she did." Shepard agreed with a sigh.

"Still at least she went down doing what she loved,there are a lot of people who can't say that you know." Garrus said leaning in close to Shepard.

"That is true,just wish she didn't have to go at all." Shepard said and then he raised his glass. "Here is to Liara up in Asari heaven."

"To sweet little Liara." Garrus said raising his glass with a shaky hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Aria paced back and forth across her Citadel office fuming. "Has there been any sign that Shepard has come back to the Citadel or that he is complying with my demands?" she asked her assistant,a young Asari named Tola.

"No none yet. I suspect he is trying to find a way out of this. I still say we should have killed on of the kids to show him we mean business." Talo said.

"No,that would not work." Aria stopped pacing and faced Tola. "If we had done that there is no way Shepard would make a deal. He would instead attack us here and try to torture their location out of me. The brats are leverage,if we kill them we lose the leverage. It is far better to leave it to his imagination what we will do to them. He has seen the darkest parts of the galaxy so the what if in his mind is much better then anything we could come up with. As long as the danger is a what if he will be under my power."

"I see." Tola said nodding. "Well you have dealt with him for years. Still once he has the kids back he will come after you."

"Of course he will but by that time the Asari and myself will have so much power it will be suicide and I will have turned the galaxy against him." Aria said.

"Well I hope you are right. I don't want to go up against the man who defeated the Reapers and the Counsel at the same time." Tola said thoughtfully.

"Once I have control of C-SEC and the Spectres what little the Counsel can do will no longer be of any concern to me."

"Then the Asari can move into a future where we control our own fate and that of the Galaxy." Tola said with a smile.

"Yes,with me leading them the Asari's future is very bright. What do you think Shepard meant by that crack about my "Cerberus friends"?" Aria asked.

"I think he was just grasping for something to throw you off so he made up something about Cerberus because he knows how much you hate them." Tola answered.

"I am not so sure." Aria said thoughtfully. "Shepard has never made incredible claims that were not true before and I don't think he would start now."

"Well he has never had a family in danger before,that may have caused him to try something new." Tola said.

"True,or it could be that a small part of Cerberus survived and they have been helping me not because they are Human who want Humanity to leave the Counsel as we thought but because it is part of some long term plan by Cerberus. We should keep an eye on them. Still if it is Cerberus that just makes one more group of people I will have my revenge against." Aria said.

"That is true,everything seems to be coming together." Tola said looking at Aria in awe. "You are the next great leader of the Asari."

"Of course I am. Unlike those fools who never leave the home world or wasted their lives dancing I spent my time learning how things work in the galaxy and building up power bases. With me leading the Asari will be strong again."

it was then that Aria's private comline on her Omni-Tool beeped. She picked up the call and her face went dark with the news she heard.

"What has happened?" Tola asked.

"It's Shepard." Aria said. "The Normady has left and no one knows where it has gone."

"Well what could he do?" Tola asked. "After all there is no way he could know where his kids are being held and even if he did that once little earth ship could not survive what is waiting for him there."

"I don't know. Shepard has beaten the odds before and he is clearly trying something." Aria said.

"Well there is no way he can get their in time and if he does go on a suicide mission that just gets him out of our way faster." Tola pointed out.

"True." Aria said. "Still there is no point in taking chances. Get them on the com I want to warn them that Shepard is coming. If he tries anything those kids will be the first to die."

**Well that is chapter 23. I am working hard on chapter 24 so it should be up soon. Thanks for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it.**


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Jacob was awakened by the beep of his Omni-Tool's comunit. He had fallen asleep on the couch with one kid on either side of him. They had talked and cried into the night and then finally fallen asleep. He got up slowly and carefully so as not to wake the children and then walked to the other side of the living room before answering his comunit. It was Miranda Lawson and she looked worried.

"Jacob Aria has figured out what Shepard is up to and she is trying to warn the kidnappers." She said urgently.

"Okay I'll get a C-Sec team and go arrest her." Jacob said.

"I have put a virus in the Citadel's computer system that has cut off all outgoing communications but it will not hold long. I will be coming too. We don't have a warrant but I can use my Spectre statis to justify the arrest. Plus you may need my help,remember she is a power biotic and she may have Asari commandos with her."

"Yeah I'll be careful." Jacob said grimly. There were few things in the universe more dangerous then an Asari biotic of Aria's age,and if she was backed up by commandos taking her down would be a risky job.

"She is still in her office I will meet you there." Miranda said.

"Okay. Miranda don't forget to be careful too." Jacob said and then he clicked off his comunit.

He then let the C-Sec guards know he was leaving the apartment and then placed a call to his best and most trusted team of C-Sec officers. They would meet him outside Aria's office.

As he drove there he began to prepare himself mentally for the upcoming battle. It would be a hard and deadly fight if he wasn't careful but if Aria wasn't taken then Shepard's kids were dead. Still taking her in a large three room office would be a problem.

Then there was the fact that they were attacking a counsel member without charges or a warrant. The trouble was they would have to prove her guilt to the whole counsel for that and there simply wasn't time and doing so could tip off the kidnappers. Even if he survived the coming battle he knew that he and Miranda would most likely lose their jobs and if worst came to worst they could face prison time. Still he couldn't afford to be distracted by that right now. He was almost at the tall white building that house the counselors' offices.

He focused on the problem at hand. Yes the office was large and had three rooms but at least all the offices were laid out almost the same so their shouldn't be too many surprises once they got inside. Still he would have to send part of his team to cover the large window at the back of the office. Aria's office was on the fifth floor so they would have to disable security or she would see them coming. Still even if they did that the window was a big problem. A biotic could easily survive a fall or jump out of it and then all she would have to do is get to a ship and she could signal the kidnappers. He would just have to hope they took her by surprise and her down quickly. There wasn't any more time to think because he had arrived. He saw three C-Sec cars with his team standing around them and one civilian car that Miranda was just getting out of park min front of the large office building.

Jacob set his car down in a parking space in front of a medium sized shrub across from the other cars. He walked over and joined the group. They were all wearing body armor and most were checking their weapons to make sure they were ready to go. This was an elite group but they had their work cut out for them. There were 12 officers in addition to Miranda and Jacob there. Jacob told four of them,A Turian name Galus,A Vorcha named Tresk., A Human woman named Smith,and a Krogan named Crau to go around the building and signal when they had the window covered.

Miranda turned to Jacob and said. "I have alerted building security that we are here on Spectre business so they should not get in our way. You ready to go?"

Jacob took a minute to check his shotgun and make sure he had extra clips before replying. "Yeah,let's do this."

They entered the busy lobby,even with all the busy people from every race you could imagine going to and throw they attracted some attention. Jacob signaled four of his men to cover the stairs while he and Miranda took the remaining four men,two male Turians and two male Humans and headed into the elevator. It only took a few seconds to reach the lobby of the Asari Counselor's offices. The lobby was full of people,mostly Asari who had business waiting,at the far end of the large lavishly decorated room was the sliding door that let to Aria's private assistance's office and through that Aria's office. Two doors to get through before they would even be in the same room with her. There was no getting around it Aria would have time to prepare a defense.

They walked past the counter where Asari clerks were dealing with people who were standing in line and some of the clerks yelled for them to stop but no one got in their way until two Asari guards stepped between them and the door. Miranda didn't give them time to speak or react,she let lose with a powerful biotic field that slammed the two guards through the door and into the office behind the door knocking them out.

"Nice touch." Jacob said as he stepped over the glass.

"I thought so." Miranda said casually stepping into the office. A shocked Tola was now hitting an alarm button. Jacob then spun around and pointed his shotgun in her face. "You don't want to be the person who gets in our way.." He said. She them began to glow with Biotic energy but Jacob quickly knocked her to the ground with the butt of his shotgun. The Two Turians were then on her placing the dazed woman in cuffs. One of the Human officers was at the door that was now sealed hacking the security panel to get the door opened. Everyone was tense,they had no idea what they would find on the other side of that door.

Finally after what seemed like hours the door slid open. Miranda yelled into the room "Aria T'Lok you are under arrest for Terrorism and kidnapping!" As they stepped into the room.

On the other side of the room the large desk was over turned and Aria and at least two Asari commandos were taking cover behind it. Suddenly Aria rose up from behind the desk,she was floating in the air surrounded by a biotic field. "Come and meet you deaths!" She yelled. She then sent out a large warp field. Jacob managed to throw up a barrier and protect himself,Miranda and three of the guards took cover behind some large chairs but one of the officers,a Haman named Edwards was caught in the warp field. His body was instantly torn in two. Aria laughed. "You shouldn't bring ants to a fight with a god!" She taunted.

Jacob then yelled as he shot a biotic field of his own Aria but she easily dodged it and all it did was move the table about two feet back. She then hit Jacob with her own field and knocked him to the ground. She had left herself open to attack from the side when she did this. Miranda hit her with a heavy warp field and the other three C-Sec officers began firing on her. Her barrier flickered with the impact but didn't quite go down,but she took cover behind the table. Her two commandos then popped up from behind the table and began firing their riffles. The bullets impacted on Miranda's barrier but it just barely held. Jacob had had the wind knocked out of him and was pinned on the ground. Open of the commandos leveled her riffle at him but just as she was about to fire one of the Turrians hit her armored helmet with a shot from his pistol,the shot did not penetrate the helmet but it did distract her long enough for Jacob to get to his feet. He then fired his shotgun into her,she tried to bring up a barrier but was too slow. Jacob was using armor piercing rounds and she let out a scream as they went through her armor and lodged in her chest but she didn't quite go down. Jacob then had to take cover behind a shelf as she returned fire.

It was at this point Aria returned to the battle. She used a biotic field to push the desk forward quickly. It slammed into Miranda and the C-Sec officers who were with her on her side of the room,it pinned them against the wall. Jacob then jumped out from behind his cover and fired into the commando he had hit earlier,this time she went down dead but Jacob then found himself trapped in a stasis field send out by the other commando.

Aria was now floating through the air,advance on the still pinned Miranda and the three C-Sec officers. The officers opened fire with their pistols. Aria's barrier easily held against the fired. She then used a field to lift the two Turians off of the ground and slammed them through the window that took up the opposite wall,she then let them fall five stories to their deaths.

Miranda used this time to finally get her self unpinned. She then used biotics to hurl the desk across the room at the commando who was holding Jacob in the stasis field. She was forced to let Jacob go in order to stop the desk from hitting her. Jacob has to give his implants a few seconds to recharge so he ran head first at the commando. At the same moment the last C-sec officer fired at her and hit her, Jacob then slammed into her and knocked both of them out of the broken window. He managed to grab onto the edge with both hands and was now hanging outside the building. The Asari used a field to slow her fall and landed safely on the ground but was then finished off by the officers Jacob has stationed there.

Miranda was now standing and had surrounded herself with a barrier. Then at almost the exact same moment both she and Aria fired warp fields at each other. The two fields collided in mid air and exploded filling the room with blue energy. Everything that was left standing including the human officer was either knocked to the floor or shattered to pieces. It was an awesome display of the power these two woman held. They were both short of breath but their barriers were still holding. They then began to circle each other,like predatory cats.

"You are good." Aria said smugly as she looked Miranda in the eyes. "It has been a long time since I have had a challenge."

"You have no idea." Miranda said that then she pulled out her machine pistol and fired into into Aria's barrier. Aria just laughed because it was a futile attempt,the bullets did not pass through her barrier. She then charged into Miranda. The impact of the two barriers hitting each other knocked them through the assistance's office and into the waiting room which had now been cleared of people. Miranda used a field to pick up a chair and throw it at Aria but she easily deflected it. Aria then let out yet another warp field,this one was so big it early consumed the room. It hit Miranda's barrier and not only took it down but knocked her to the floor. Miranda lay their dazed. Aria's barrier was down and she was gasping for breath but was still on her feet. She was now advancing slowly towards Miranda. She was smug in her victory. "You may be good." She said with a smile as she stopped two paces in front of Miranda and then with great effort picked up a large heavy desk and suspended it above the still dazed and bloodied Miranda's body. "But no one is a match for the Ardat-Yakshi,We are the ultimate in biotic power. You were doomed from the moment you decided to take me on."

What Aria didn't see was that Jacob had managed to pull himself up and back inside and was now making his way slowly up behind her. Jacob took one look in Miranda's eyes and knew what she was planing. A moment latter Miranda used the last energy she could muster to roll out from under the desk and fire a weak warp field at the unprotected Aria. At the same moment Jacob fired his own warp field at her from behind. Aria brought up a barrier but it was not strong enough to stop both warp fields and she let out a scream as they hit her. She fell to the ground. She was unable to move and there was blood coming out of her nose and mouth. Miranda then passed out on the floor. Jacob was out of breath but got on his com unit.

"All officer Aria is down,I repeat Aria is down. We need escort and med evact at her office right away. Good work everyone,now let's get this trash locked up."

**Well that is chapter 24. Sorry it took so long but I had major writers block and I didn't want to write this chapter when I was out of ideas because I wanted the show down with Aria to be epic. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. The next one will come quicker. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.**


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"Well that does it the stealth system on this shuttle is working now." Ken said stepping out of the Normandy's Shuttle number one and looking at Gabby and Tali with a proud grin on his face. He was always proud when he could show up Gabby or Tali when it came to solving a problem. It wasn't easy to show up either of them and to do it to both of them at the same time was a feat but this time he had managed it. He had solved a problem both of them could not figure out.

"That great." Gabby said not looking up from the console she was working at. "Now if we could only get the stealth system on a shuttle to work for more then ten or fifteen minutes at a time before giving out maybe we could get this past the prototype stage."

Tali caught herself smiling behind her mask. She had to admit that since she started working on the citadel she had missed these two,and their on again off again relationship that they tried to hide from everyone. If anyone had told her that all those years ago when she first met them she would not have believed that person. When she first met them they had been just two more Cerberus crew members who she kept at arms length because she was sure they would like nothing better then to wipe out the inter migrant fleet,but then she had gotten to know them almost despite herself. She learned that they were two kind souls who seemed to care as much about engines as she did if that was possible and that like her they didn't share Cerberus' views they were just here because they wanted to help Shepard. Tali found her mind drifting back to all the surprisingly happy hours she had spent working with these two first on the collectors mission and then during the war. They had been going through hell at the time but some how arguing and chatting with these two and listening to them flirt had been a bright patch in even the darkest moment and Tali couldn't help but smile to herself at the memories. Tali then chastised herself. She had no right being happy while her children were in danger and she shouldn't be thinking about anything other then getting them back. Still now thanks to Ken her chances of getting them back had just gone up a little bit,she hoped.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

Shepard was in his and Tali's quarters preparing for what was to come by getting into his old N7 battle armor. It had been years since he had last worn it and he was glad it still fit despite the twenty or so extra pounds he had put on since leaving military life. He just couldn't get the time to exercise the way he used to these days,still as he looked in the mirror he had to admit he wasn't in as bad shape as he thought he was before he put on the armor.

Just then Joker's voice came over the intercom,he sounded a little unsure as he made the announcement "Folks I think we are about to reenter normal space,so everyone brace yourselves."

The ship then shook and Shepard looked up through the skylight above the bed to see the sea of red replaced by the stars and blackness of space.

A minute or two latter EDI's panel came to life. "Shepard I have ruled out all of the planets and moons in this this system as the location of the homing device."

"I knew you wouldn't let me down EDI."

It was then that Joker broke in. "Shepard I think you had better come to the bridge."

When Shepard stepped off of the elevator and on to the bridge he found Tali waiting for him.

"What do you think is going on?" She asked him.

"Well the kids are not on any of the planets or moons so there must be a ship or a space station,so we will have to come up with a plan for getting them off of there." Shepard answered,it was then that they reached joker's station at the front of the bridge.

"You may want to have a look at this." Joker said grimly.

Tali and Shepard both looked out the window and their hearts sank with what they saw. There ahead of them were Asari ships of every size.

"No wonder Aria recalled all the ships,she was building a fleet." Shepard said with dismay.

EDI then broke in again. "The signal is coming from an Asari crusier near the center of the fleet."

"There is no way we can get there with out being shot down." Tali said with worry and fear showing in her voice.

"I am taking the Normandy behind that moon so they will not be able to see us." Joker said and then he brought the ship into a parting orbit that put a large dead moon between them and the fleet.

"John what are we going to do?" Tali asked turning to Shepard.

"I don't know but I will think of something,we didn't come all this way just to give up." Shepard replied trying to sound more sure of himself then he was at the moment. In truth he wasn't sure what he could do but he had defeated Reapers so there was no way an Asari fleet was going to stand between him and his kids.

It was then that X.O Adams walked up to Shepard. "Sir we are getting an FTL transmission from the Citadel for you." He reported.

"I'll take it in my quarters." Shepard said and then he and Tali turned and made their way to the elevator .

When they got up to their cabin and activated the view screen Miranda Lawson appeared,she looked bruised and tired.

"Miranda what happened?" Tali asked her voice full of concern.

"No time to talk about that right now." Miranda answered quickly. "Aria figured out what you were up to and we had to bring her in. It will not be long now before the kidnappers know what is going on. Also we have to use force so the counsel will be coming for Jacob and I soon."

"Miranda I am so sorry." Shepard said with a bow of his head. "I promise I will get you out of this some how."

"That isn't important right now. We need to save those kids before we are all in a lot of trouble." Miranda said.

"Well we have a problem there." Shepard said grimly. "The kids are on a ship in the middle of a fleet. Aria has a whole fleet at her command. I am not sure how we are going to get past them yet and now we have to work against the clock."

"Shepard if I could get Aria to move the rest of the fleet besides the kidnappers' ship out of the system would that help."

"Yes of course it would but how would you do that?"

"Never mind that,just be ready to make your move when it happens."

Tali then spoke up. "Miranda thank you." She said simply. She knew the price Miranda would have to pay,she never would have thought that she would end up owing the "Cerberus cheerleader" so much but know she knew that if she did get her family back it would be because of her.

Miranda just nodded and then the comlink went dead.

**Okay that was chapter 25. Sorry it was so short and it took so long but I have been sick for the past week and was in the bathroom. Plus the internet is down at my house at the moment so I have to wait until I can get into the library to post a chapter. If this keeps up in future I will posting two or three chapters at a time. Being sick is the only reason I wasn't able to do that this week/ I wanted to post something before Saturday so I posted this. Chapter 26 will be up either Saturday or Sunday. Thank you for your time and again sorry it took so long and thank you for all your support despite the delay. You guys have been so great.**


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Aria T'laok was awakened by a sharp pain in her right arm. The first thing she saw when her eye focused was a Salarian she didn't know who was holding a needle he must have just used on her. She tried to reach up and grab him but found all her limbs were restrained. She was in an uncomfortable metal chair. The room she was in seemed to be plain and unfurnished,and it was lit by a bright white light that was hanging almost directly above her head. Aria came to the conclusion that she must be in a C-Sec holding cell. The Salarian had turned around and was walking away. Aria knew that he would most likely not answer her questions so she decided to keep quite and not give him the satisfaction of hearing her beg for answers. Aria could not see the door from where she was but she heard it open and shut so she knew she was now most likely alone.

A few minutes later she heard the door open and close again follow but the sound of boots stepping on the mettle floor. A moment latter the figure of Miranda Lawson came into view.

"You know you will be lucky to avoid prison after this,don't you?" Aria said before Miranda could speak. She had decided to go on the attack. "The Spectres are supposed to answer to the counsel not the other way around. I will be out of here soon and when I am you and everyone else will pay."

"Maybe you will be." Miranda conceded. "But I will have gotten what I need from you before you leave."

"You think you can make me talk about anything? Remember I am a strong biotic too. I can resist anything you do to me and anything you do to me will only get you into more trouble."

" I don't think you will be able to resist. You see that serum Mr. Maelon injected you with is something the Salarian Special Tasks Group came up with in case they ever had to fight your people. It suppresses biotic skills in Asari."

"Well that was clever of you." Aria said with a smug smile. "Still I see no reason why I should tell you anything. By now someone will have alerted Vice President Tactus and he will show up soon to put a stop to this."

"You want to know something about me?" Miranda asked taking a step closer to the chair. "I was bred to be the ultimate Human biotic. I was given an inplant at a very early age and encuraged to experiment with my biotic skills at an early age."

"As interesting as all this is you seem to have mistaken me for someone who cares." Aria interrupted. "I am more interested in why you are willing to take such personal risks. After all they are not your kids,what do you owe Shepard at this point. You let me go and you can avoid prison."

"You really think I would betray Shepard at this point? You don't know a lot about people do you?" Miranda shot back. Aria had managed to draw her into a debate,this was exactly what she intended to do.

"You already betrayed everything you ever believed in when you left Cerberus,so why not do it when it is in your own best interest. When you took me you violated the oath you took when you took this job,so you can't claim you are loyal to anything but yourself."

"That's not true!" Miranda almost yelled.

"Isn't it? Can you point to one thing in your life you have been loyal to? You betrayed your father,Cerberus,and now the counsel. You are loyal to nothing so don't pretend you have any sort of morals. Just tell me your price and I will pay it."

That was it Miranda snapped. She spun around and faced Aria,there was pure anger in her eyes and he body glowed with biotic energy. Aria then clinched her teeth in pain.

"I learned how to make microscopic biotic fields when I was a child." Miranda said taking two steps forward and getting in Aria's face. "I have always wondered what would happen if I put one is someone's head,but I have never hated anyone enough to do it until now!"

Aria was gritting her teeth and trying to pull out of the restraints but she refused to give in and scream,instead she went on the attack again. "Are you trying to prove you are not a monster,is that it? Well I have news for you Cerberus killed a lot of children when you worked for them and you didn't care. Why do you care now?!"

"You will order all of the ship except the one that has Shepard's children on it out of the system or I will destroy your mind." Miranda commanded refusing to rise to Aria's bait any more.

But Aria was not giving in yet. "Or is it more then that? Are you trying to prove something to Shepard? That's it isn't it. You didn't leave Cerberus because you thought they were wrong you left them because of Shepard. If it wasn't for him you would still be working for them. Admit it this is all about proving to him that he should have chosen you over the suit rat. Well guess what you have just wrecked your own life for nothing. Shepard may get his family back but then he will leave you to face the music alone. You can't win this one."

Miranda then leaned in closer to Aria's face. "Don't ever think you know me. Shepard saved my only family once and now I am returning the favor. You don't know him either he doesn't desert his friends."She said with fire in her eyes. "This is your last chance even if someone does come in here to stop me I will make sure I kill you before they can do anything about it. The only way you leave this room alive is if you send that message to your fleet."

At last the pain became too much and Aria let out a scream. "Are you ready to make that call yet?" Miranda asked. All Aria could do was nod here head. She had bought herself some time but not enough she was could at reading people and could tell Miranda meant every word of it when she threatened to kill her.

"Fine then we will get you to FTL transmitter,and remember if you say one word I don't like I will kill you." With that Miranda called in Jacob and began releasing the restraints that held Aria to the chair.

It was about five minutes later after Aria had made her call and was being taken back to her cell,when Miranda and Jacob finally relaxed a little. They both sat down in chairs opposite each other in the Executor's office. Miranda looked completely spent.

"Are you okay Miranda?" Jacob asked concern showing on his face.

"Yeah of course I am." Miranda answered mater of factly. "I have just never done anything quite like that before and it took a lot out of me."

"Are you sure that is all?" Jacob asked pointedly while leaning forward in his chair.

"What else could it be?!" Miranda asked becoming a little upset now.

"Come on Miranda I have known you a long time and something else is bothering you. If it would help to talk about it I want you to tell me what it is." Jacob pressed.

Miranda seemed to calm down a little and after a few moments she spoke,this time calmly and quietly. "It's just when I was a girl I believed that my father knew what was best and I wanted to please him. Then when I joined Cerberus I believed 100% in them and that Cerberus could do no wrong. Now I believe in what Shepard is trying to do with the Galaxy but I have to wonder if maybe Aria was right. Is this just another in the long line of causes that I have gotten on board but will then leave at some point? Do I really stand for anything or am I just someone who goes wherever the wind blows me and doesn't really believe or stand for anything?"

Jacob thought for a minute and then answered with a sigh. "Miranda you can't let what Aria said get to you. Yes you may have signed up for some bad causes in the past but this is different."

"I wish I could be sure."

"Look I have known you for a long time and I know that you always signed up for those causes because deep down you wanted to do something for the greater good. Yes,you were trying to survive and yes you were blind to what Cerberus did wrong but then again so was I."

Miranda just sat silently not looking convinced so Jacob continued. "You were created with all these great gifts and as soon as you could make your own choices you ran because you didn't want to be selfish with them. The reason you joined Cerberus was because you wanted to help others and protect your sister. Once Shepard showed you the true face of Cerberus you left. You are here not because we are doing something good and I don't think you will run away from this cause. Miranda you are an amazing person and that has nothing to do with how you were created or anything else. You have always chosen what looked like the high road at the time and I am here to tell you this is the high road. You are a good person who have has a strong moral code,that is why you left both your father and Cerberus and don't ever let anyone tell you differently."

Miranda thought about this before responding with a weak smile. "Thanks Jacob,I needed to hear that. You have always been a good friend."

"Any time Miranda." Jacob responded and then he stood up and got a grim look on his face. "I think it's time to face the music." he said.

Miranda stood up and turned around. The moment they had known would come since they moved against Aria had finally come. Vice President Tactus had entered the office with about ten C-Sec officers. He pointed at Miranda and Jacob.

"Arrest those two. They attacked a member of the counsel." Jacob and Miranda put their hands in the air to show that they would not resist. A group of four officers came over and disarmed them and then cuffed their hands behind their back. Tactus then gave more orders. "Find Counselor T'Laok,release her,and see if she need medical attention."

"I guess it is time to pay the piper." Miranda said looking at Jacob.

A few minutes latter a very angry Aria who was playing up how badly she was hurt for the Turian vice president came out of the cell block and entered the office.

She then looked at Miranda and Jacob. "I told you that you would never get away with it." She then turned to Tactus. "These two are part of a human plot to take control of the counsel. I found proof so they tried to silence me! she yelled pointing at Mirand and Jacob.

"That's not true!" Jacob cried out. "She was behind the attack on the President's mansion yesterday that is why we had to stop her. We had to make sure she didn't do anything else!"

Aria didn't look phased she just looked at Tactus. "I can prove what I am saying is the truth they can not prove what they are saying. The proof is in my office let me show it to you."

Tactus thought for a moment and then gave his reply. "Fine show me. Officers take these two to holding,I will call a meeting of the counsel and then we will decide what to do with them."

"They need to be tried for treason." Aria said. "We need to space them in order to set an example so that no one will ever try to over throw the counsel again."

Tactus then stepped in. "There will need to be a trial for that to happen and it will be the counsel who decides if there will be one. If you can make that case before the counsel then they will stand trial for treason."

That was the last think Miranda and Jacob heard before being let out of the office and to their cells. Their lives now hung in the balance. Before they were parted Miranda whispered one thing to Jacob. "Jacob you have a family so promise me that if it comes to a trial you will say it was all my idea and you just went alone with it because you trusted me. Don't let yourself be executed for this."

Jacob was shocked but he didn't have time to reply before they were parted and put in separate cells. He hoped Shepard would get back soon because he was the only one who stood a chance of getting them out of this mess and he didn't want to buy his own life at the cost of Miranda's. From the sound of things Aria was going to try and build a case against Shepard too. It seemed that no what they did Aria was prepared for it. He didn't know how they could get out ahead of her and turn the tables he just knew that for the good of the galaxy not to mention his and Miranda's lives they had to. Things were looking very bleak at that moment.

**Well that was chapter 26. I hoped you enjoyed it and thanks for reading.**


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

On the Normandy Shepard had gathered his team in the old war room. They all stood around the holo table that was projecting an image of the Asari ship where his and Tali's kids were being held.

"All right now that everyone is here let's go over our plan of attack." Shepard said as he took a step forward and leaned against the table. "As you can see this class of ship has four decks and there are two way to get on board. There is an airlock near the front of the ship on deck two and there is a carbo bay for shuttles aft on deck four."

"Which one will we be using?" Garrus asked. He was standing on the opposite side of the table with the help of two crutches.

"Both." Shepard answered. "So everyone in the shuttle will need to be wearing their helmets. Kasumi has informed Tali and I that she has taken out the power systems of this type of ship before on a heist."

"She has?!" Garrus asked not quite believing.

"Yes I have." Kasumi said stepping forward. "I have a computer virus that when released into the systems that control the ship's mass effect core will shut down all of it's power systems for about ten minutes."

"About ten minutes,you don't know how long exactly?" Ashley Williams asked.

"It all depends on how long it takes them to figure out what happened and fix it." Kasumi explained. "EDI and I have come up with a virus that will keep them from knowing that their airlock has been opened. Using my cloak I will sneak onto the ship and then use the virus to shut down their power systems."

"Okay that sounds fine but what is the next step,when do we kick some ass?" It was Grunt who asked this question.

"Funny you should mention that because once the power goes down you and Ash will use the same airlock to enter the ship and keep the crew confused by destroying as much stuff and engaging as much of the crew as you can." Shepard answered.

"Now you are talking!" Grunt said pounding his right fist into his left hand.

"Meanwhile the rest of us in the shuttle will go and land in the cargo bay." Shepard continued. "EDI has narrowed the signal down to either decks 4 or three of the ship,that is where Rael,Jeff and Raan are being held. Samara will hold the shuttle bay so that we can make our escape quickly while Tali and I start on deck four and search. Kasumi you will make your way back to the shuttle bay and help Samara hold it once we have docked. Tali and I will signal when we have the kids and then Ash and Grunt will make their way to the shuttle bay and we will all get out of there. Any more questions?"

"Yes,what is my job on this mission?" Garrus asked.

"Well if you are up for it the shuttle could use a pilot." Shepard said looking at his old friend.

"I have never been more up for anything,and don't worry this is a good plan and it will work. Now let's bring those kids home."

It was then that Joker's voice came over the intercom. "The Asari fleet has just left sensor range,we are good to go."

"Okay this is it." Shepard said. "Everyone suit up and meet at the shuttle in five minutes,dismissed."

"Oh and thank you all so much for this. We both know how much we are asking from you all,thank you." Tali said speaking up for the first time. Everyone seemed to say "Don't mention it." in their own way and then made their way out of the room. Shepard then went over to his wife and put an arm around her.

"This is going to work." He said trying to comfort her. In truth he needed to hear these words even more then she did. "I promise we are not leaving with out them,we will get them back."

"I know we will." Tali said looking up at him. "It's just I can't wait for this whole thing to be over."

"Neither can I,now let's get down to that shuttle." Shepard said.

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It was about ten minutes latter when they were all in the crowed shuttle,that thanks to the new stealth system had been able to fly right up to the air lock on the Asari ship with out being detected,when the first part of the plan was put into motion.

"Everyone got their helmets on?" Shepard asked. Once everyone had confirmed that they did he opened the shuttle's door. The small craft shook a little at the change in pressure.

"You ready Kasumi?" Tali asked her friend.

"I always am." she replied with a grin and then she pushed herself out of the door and into the void of space. Now the rest of them just had to wait for Kasumi to complete her part of the mission.

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Kasumi floated up to the airlock hatch. She grabbed the edge of the hatch and found the control panel. She then planted the virus and waited a few seconds for it to work before she engaged her cloak and opened the airlock hatch. It seemed to take forever for the airlock to complete it's cycle so Kasumi could leave and get onto the ship,the whole time she was afraid someone would come by and see what was happening. Thankfully that didn't happen and she quietly exited the airlock a few minutes later.

She looked around and she spotted the elevator at one end of the hall but she didn't want to use that to get to deck three since it would attract attention. She looked around and a few feet down the hall she found a hatch that led into the ship's duct works. It would be hot in there but it was better then using the elevator.

She was about to open the metal hatch that led into the ducts when she froze in place,she heard the sound of talking and boot on the metal deck. She looked to her right and saw three Asari coming out of one of the rooms,they then turned and started heading her way. Kasumi didn't dare move or make a sound and as they got closer she hoped they wouldn't hear her breathing. She held her breath as one of the Asari came with in an inch of bumping into her,but thankfully they kept walking by. Kasumi waited for them to get into the elevator and then let out the breath she had been holding in.

Kasumi then returned her attention to the hatch and quickly pulled it open before anyone else could come by. She then got into the duct work. She had to stop her self from crying out because it was hotter then she expected inside. The ducting was just barely big enough for her to move in and it was slow going because she had to be careful not to make any sounds that could be heard outside. The sweat was pouring down her face and into her eyes when at last she heard voices outside. This meant that she must have pasted between decks two and three and was now on deck three. Now she just had to make her way to the engine room and plant the virus with out being caught.

Kasumi saw that she had to make a right hand turn at a fork in the ducting. The heat was coming from the right so that had to be the direction the engine room was in. She could hear an unknown number of Asari just outside talking about something. She had to be careful because if she made a noise now it was all over. She was very careful with every move she made. She wished it wasn't so hot since her sweat was starting to distract her. The minutes it took for her to silently work her way past the voices felt like hours. Kasumi didn't know how much more of this heat she could take and hoped she was getting near the engine room.

Suddenly she saw light coming in from the outside. She slowly made her way towards the light and say that he came from a hatch. It was not the heating system the heat was coming from but it was a hatch and when she looked out she could see that it opened up into the engine room. The only problem was that there was an Asari standing with her back to the hatch but too close for Kasumi to be able to open it. Kasumi debated if she should wait to see if the Asari moved or if she should try to find another hatch.

While she was debating with her self a voice came from somewhere out of sight and the Asari moved in that direction. Kasumi decided not to question her luck and get out of the hot ducting as fast as she could. She quickly pushed the hatch opened and had only just replaced it when she heard foot steps coming her way. She froze in place. After the two Asari had past Kasumi took a look around. She was behind the ship's mass effect core and the control panel she needed to get to was on the other side. Getting there would not be easy. The room was small and the six Asari that seemed to be working in it were moving all the time. She would have to be very careful not to bump into anyone or be heard.

Kasumi slowly worked her way around to the front of the Mass Effect core. A few times she had to go prone against the wall to keep someone from bumping into her. When she finally made it to the console she needed she found that an Asari was working on it. There was nothing to do but wait until she left. Kasumi had to admit that there was always something fun about using her cloak. Being able to see everything but no one even knowing you were there. This is how she liked her jobs to go,quick,quiet,and with out anyone ever knowing she was there in the first place.

At last the Asari moved away and Kasumi could get to work. She had to work fast any second someone could return and see that the console was being used. If that happened there was no hiding. She quickly got past the security and downloaded the virus. It was programed to first open the airlock in the cargo bay and then shut down all the ship's power except to life support and the elevators. They would need those in order to finish the mission and escape. Waiting for the virus to take effect was the worst part. Kasumi could hear foot steps coming closer,in a few seconds whoever that was would be able to see the console. At the last second the virus suddenly took effect and all the lights went out as the ship's mass effect core stopped.

There were a lot of confused voices and Kasumi heard someone trip over something and curse. She couldn't see who it was. Finally one of the Asari seemed to take charge,Kasumi guessed she was the highest ranking officer in the room. Kasumi decided now would be a good time to leave before she bumped into someone in the dark. She had just made her way to the door when she heard something that made her job a lot more complicated. The Asari in charge called out to another Asari.

"Nalla,this must be an attack." The Asaris said sternly. "The coms are down. You know our orders. Go to the Medbay across the hall and kill the little brat that is in there. We are not to let those kids be taken back alive."

"Yes Sir." The other Asari answered.

Well there was nothing for it now Kasumi would have to stop this and get to the cargo bay with a sick Quarian kid. That made things a lot more complicated,she couldn't use her cloak and she would have to fight her way past every crew member that stood between her and the cargo bay. Kasumi wasn't really armed or trained for that,but what other choice did she have.

Kasumi waited for the Asari to get to the door and then followed her out. She followed her to one of the doors across from the engine room. Inside was a small medbay,the only sound that could be heard came from a biobed near the far wall. It was the sound of a scared child crying.

The Asari walked up to the biobed. Kasumi would have to time her attack carefully. If the Asari had time to call for help then there would soon be more people in this room then Kasumi could handle. The first strike with her knife would have to kill the Asari.

Kasumi could see that the small,very scared child was restrained on the bed. He had his suit on except for the face mask. She could tell the child was sick and his eye revealed a state of pure terror.

"What's happening,what are you going to do to me?" He asked with tears in his eyes.

The Asari seemed to struggle with herself for a moment and then she spoke. "Damn it kid! This isn't what a signed up for."

"What are you talking about?!" The small boy asked.

"Look I am going to fire this guy twice in the air and then I need you to be completely quiet. I think someone will be coming here soon to get you but the people outside need to think you are dead. I didn't sign up to kill kids. Do you understand?"

Rael was too shocked to respond. "Damn it kid,Do you understand?!" The Asari demanded.

Rael could only nod.

The Asari lifted her pistol and pointed it in the air and then fired two shots,the noise echoed through the small room. Rael covered his ears and turned away but true to his word he didn't make a sound. Then with out another word the Asari then turned and walked out of the room. Kasumi had to quickly step out of the way to avoid being run into.

Kasumi then shut off the cloak and walked up to the bed. Rael then turned his head and was about to scream but Kasumi put her right hand over his mouth.

"Listen I am not going to hurt you." She whispered. "I am a friend of your mother's. I am part of a rescue mission and I am going to get you out of here but I need you not to scream,do you understand?"

Rael nodded and Kasumi then took her hand off of his mouth and started to undo the restraints. She then helped the boy off of the bed. He seemed a little unsteady on his feet and he was very scared.

"Can you walk?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah I can walk,where are Raan and Jeff?"

"I don't know." Kasumi answered. "Your mom and dad are getting them,I just need you to do exactly what I say and keep quiet. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." Was all the boy said.

"Good." Kasumi said and then she added. "Don't worry I was with your mom and dad when they took down the collectors. I know what I am doing." She then took out a spare comlink she kept in her pocket and handed it to the boy. "Put this in your ear that way if we get separated you will be able to talk to me or anyone else on the mission."

"Okay" Rael then put the comlink in his left ear.

I moment latter they hear what sounded like a gun shot. Rael couldn't help himself he let out a scream and ducked down in the far corner of the room. A second latter the door opened and three Asari stepped in. They seemed to be let by the Asari was was in charge of the engine room and they stepped over a body to get in. Kasumi assumed they had killed the Asari that had just been in the room. There wasn't much time Kasumi pushed the bed over to give herself some cover and then raced over and grabbed the screaming Rael and pushed him down behind the bed.

Kasumi then fired several shots at the Asari but the shots jut impacted harmlessly on their shields. The Asari then returned fire and Kasumi had to take cover.

"This is Kasumi!" She yelled into the comlink "I need back up I have Rael with me. I am in the medbay on deck three and I am facing at least three Asari. Please anyone who can hear me I need back up now!"

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Ashely Williams and Grunt were floating outside the airlock and waiting for the ship's power to go down.

"Waiting is the worst part of any battle. I just want to get in there and start killing some Asari scum." Grunt grumbled.

"I just want it to be over." Ashely replied flatly.

"That's a Human for you. Your trouble is you never take the time to enjoy a good battle. The challenge of taking on a new enemy and the sound of them fleeing before you in terror when you win. You really need to stop and enjoy the little things." Grunt said.

"I'll enjoy the little things when we are done with this mission. Ashely said. Then they saw all the lights from inside the ship go dark.

"That's our signal. Wrex said happily. "Time to kick some ass!"  
They then opened the airlock and walked onto the ship. There is always some unsettling about a starship that has no power. There are no sounds except your own breathing and footsteps and the only light is what people bring with them. All in all there are a lot of other places Ashely would have rather been at that moment.

A moment latter two Asari stepped out of a room about half way down the hall. Grunt didn't wait,he just fired his shotgun into the lead Asari knocking her down and charged at the other one yelling "I AM KROGAN!" The other Asari tried to raise her gun but didn't have time before Grunt ran into her and knocked her to the floor. He then fired his shotgun into her face at point blank range killing her.

It was about then that the hall began to fill with armed Asari coming out of the rooms. "Well what are you waiting for?!" Grunt said looking back at Ashely. "Shepard told us to makes some noise,so let's make a lot of noise!"

Grunt then looked up and saw three Asari coming towards him. One of them tried to throw him with a biotic field but he ducked behind a support beam just in time to avoid it. Ashely then fired her riffle at the Asari and through a grenade at them. The blast didn't stop them but it did slow them enough for Grunt to reload and then charge them again. He shot the middle Asari with his shot gun and then stabbed the one on the right in the face with his knife. The one on the left fired at him but the shot just impacted on his armor and then Ashely got a head shot and killed her.

Grunt then took cover again there were now at least six Asari in the hall and these ones looked ready for combat and not at all surprised like the last group. This was going to be a real fight now.

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Garrus was bringing the shuttle in for a landing in the ship's cargo bay when Shepard spotted half a dozen Asari waiting for them. Some of the Asari had barriers up. This was not going to be an easy fight.

"Get ready for trouble." Shepard said to everyone grimly.

Before Shepard could stop her Tali brought out the big machine gun that the shuttle carried. It was only supposed to be used at long rang but Tali didn't care at the moment. The noise was deafening when she fired it and the inter shuttle shook. Huge chunks of the deck were torn up by the massive rounds the gun fired and now of the barriers could hold out long against it. In a matter of seconds all that was left of the Asari were random small body parts and blood scattered across the cargo bay.

Samara looked at Tali a little shocked but all Tali said in response was "What?!" as if what she had done was the most natural thing in the world.

The Shuttle then touched down and Shepard,Tali and Samara jumped out. Samara took up a defensive position while Tali pulled out her trusty shotgun. Shepard checked his Matock assault riffle and then looked over at Tali.

"You ready for this?" He asked.

"More then ready,let's get this over with." Tali replied.

There were two large doors at the end of the cargo bay. One was on the right hand side the other was on the left hand side. Shepard and Tali chose the one on the right and carefully opened the door. Shepard peeked his head out the door and almost instantly started taking fire. It was clear Tali's little show had attracted attention.

"You know I'm starting to get the idea we are not welcome here." Shepard said as he ducked behind the door for cover.

"Maybe that is just because they have not seen the gift a brought them." Tali responded and then she hit a few buttons on her Omni-Tool and a ball of energy came into being. It was her attack drone. "Go get them Chiktikka!" Tali said and the drone flew down the hall drawing fire and shooting bursts of energy at anyone who crossed it's path.

Shepard then set his riffle to warp ammo and dashed into the hall firing. He dropped two of the distracted commandos and took cover behind a support beam. He then gave covering fire as Tali entered the hall and took cover behind a bean directly across from him. One of the commandos then sent a wave of fire through the air and Shepard got to cover just in time. He felt the heat as it impacted on the support beam.

The door to the first room they needed to check was about six feet ahead. They had to deal with the commandos and move forward. Tali sent a signal that overloaded the shields of a few of the Asari. She then came out from behind cover and started blasting with her shot gun over and over again. One Asari dropped dead,another was hit,and the rest began pulling back. Shepard also began firing and they pushed the commandos back until they reached the first door.

Shepard pushed the door open and checked inside. "Jeff,Raan,Are you in here?" He yelled into the dark room. No answer. They were not in there. Shepard looked ahead,there were still two more rooms for them to check on this deck.

Shepard then found himself suspended in the air and unable to move. One of the commandos had caught in in stasis field while he was distracted. He wasn't able to move and three Asari commandos were pointing guns at him. It was then when he was feeling helpless and facing death that he heard Kasumi's cry for help come over his headset. This rescue mission had just gone FUBAR and if he didn't do something soon he would be dead and the mission would fail.

**Well that is Chapter 27. Don't worry I will not leave you hanging for more then a day or two. Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading.**


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Samara was in Justicar mode,and that was when she was most deadly. She didn't feel anything. She didn't feel anger or pity,all that existed for her was the code. The people before her had broken it and needed to be killed,so that was what she was doing. At the moment she was fighting five Asari commandos who were trying to retake the cargo bay at close range. Garrus was laying down on the floor of the shuttle with his sniper riffle and firing whenever he had a clear shot,but it was mostly up to Samara to hold the cargo bay against wave after wave of enemies.

One of the commandos fired into Samara's barrier but the shots had no effect. Samara then used a pull field to yank that Asari over to her and then with out blinking or feeling anything she casually broke that Asari's neck and let her body fall to the deck dead.

Samara then had to leap to the left to avoid being hit by several cargo containers that one of the commandos sent flying in her direction. The head of another commando exploded. "_Garrus must have gotten a clean shot."_ Samara thought to herself. The commandos really didn't stand much of a chance,Samara had hundreds of years of combat experience fighting the worst scum of the galaxy. This wasn't really a fair fight.

While two commandos tried to distract Samara by firing into her barrier a third came flying towards her in the air and fired a warp field into the barrier. Samara's barrier weakened but held and she fired a throw field at the commando. The commando went flying back into the opposite wall with such force that her skull split open and she dropped to the floor.

A moment latter five more commandos entered through the left side door and began firing. Samara's barrier could not take many more hits so she had to use the darkness to her advantage. There were several cargo containers about two feet to her left. She leaped behind them and the bullets impacted on the containers. As She got to cover Samara saw that one of the commandos had a rocket launcher. She clearly intended to destroy the shuttle there was no time to think Samara had to attack right away. Samara may not have had time to think but she did not panic. Her training and hundreds of years of fighting evil gave her a complete calm even in situations like this. This and not her biotics is what truly gave her an edge over her enemies in combat.

Samara first used her biotics to send the cargo containers she was hiding behind flying. This scattered the new group of commandos across that side of the cargo bay,including the one with the rocket launcher. That commando was about five yards away. Samara had to be quick. She dashed at the commando and grabbed her by the throat. The other commandos turned to fire at Samara. One of the them was taken down by Garrus and then Samara lifted herself and the commando up into the air and floated off to the right behind some other cargo containers that were about ten feet away.

The Asari in her hand was struggling but Samara drew her pistol,pressed it against her gut,and fired twice. There was a look of fear mixed with pain and a little sadness in the woman's eyes as life left her body. Other people may have thought it was a shame that this woman's life ended as it had but Samara had trained herself not to feel such things. She lived by the code and the code said this woman had to die so that was all that mattered. She never felt any regret for anything she did,not even when she killed her own daughter all those years ago.

Samara then began to carefully make her way out from behind the cargo containers. In the darkness she could just barely make out the outline of an Asari about seven feet away. She decided to get closer so her attack would be sure to kill the commando. Samara got within three feet of her intended target when suddenly she was engulfed in flames. A commando had gotten behind her and launched a flame attack that bypassed her shields and took down what was left of her barrier. The commando Samara was stalking then turned around and fired her shot gun at point blank range. Samara's armor caught most of the shot but she was knocked onto her back by the impact. Samara now had minor burns and was bleeding but she did not panic.

In what seemed to be one fluid motion Samara jumped to a crouching position and then leaped into the Asarai that had just shot her,knocking the woman to the deck,She then jumped over her head and picked her up by the throat from behind. This was just as the commando that was behind her had fired a warp field,the field hit the Asari Samara was holding and then Samara used a throw field to toss her into the other commando. Samara then fired her riffle into them as they lay on the ground. There was a grunt and a scream and the they were both dead. Samara then began to look around the dark cargo bay,there were still at least three commandos left for her to deal with.

It was at that moment that Kasumi's call for help came in over the com.

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Ashley Williams and Grunt were engaged in pitch battle with Asari commandos when the call for help came in. Grunt was sanding closer to the commandos then Ashley firing his shotgun repeatedly into the group not caring who he hit. Ashley was being more tactical. Making sure she had a shot before firing her riffle and once is while throwing a grenade when she could catch a group of enemies in the blast zone.

An Asari commando floated over Grunt and surprised Ashley by landing in front of her and firing a throw field that knocked her to the gound. Ashley's riffle was knocked out of her hand and slid across the floor. The Asari stood above her and raised a shotgun to fire,but Ashley pulled out her pistol and emptied two clips very quickly into the commando's face. The shots took down the Asari's shields and reduced her face pulpy mass of blood and flesh,she dropped to the ground dead.

It was then that Grunt yelled at Ashley trying to be heard over the sounds of battle. "Williams you are closer to the elevator! Go help Kasumi,I will hold them off here!"

Ashley groped in the dark for her riffle and at least she felt the butt of it and picked it up off of the deck. She then looked back down the hall and could make out the form of Grunt fighting several Asari commandos,she could not tell exactly how many he was engaged in battle with right at that moment. Ashley yelled down the hall at the top of her lungs. "Grunt are you sure you can handle things here?!"

"Are you kidding?!" came Grunts reply. "This is just getting fun,it's what I call light exercise! Kasumi and that kid need you,now go!"

Ashley backed towards the elevator but she didn't turn her back on the battle and she kept her riffle raised. The last thing Ashley wanted was to get shot in the back. The last she saw of Grunt before the elevator doors slammed shut he was charging head first into a group of commandos.

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In the medbay Kasumi Goto and a very frightened Rael Shepard were taking cover behind an over turned biobed. The Asari were closing in and even in the dark Kasumi could tell they had their weapons drawn. She needed to do something fast. She looked over at the little boy she was protecting,he was so scared he was shaking. "Look I know this is hard." She said in a comforting but firm tone of voice. "But no matter what happens I need you to stay under cover and not move away from here. I need to go and take care of those commandos,can you stay down here?"

She could tell the sick child didn't want her to go but he nodded that he understood. Kasumi now had to act before it was too late. She only had a few minutes of use left on her cloak but if ever she needed her cloak it was now so she activated it. She could see a scared and puzzled look cross over the boy's face but she had no time to comfort him,she had to go on the attack at that moment!

Kasumi jumped over the biobed and put herself between the Asari that was closed and the boy. She twisted the arm in which the Asari was holding a pistol and pointed it towards the ground. The commando reached up with her left arm to try and fight off Kasumi but Kasumi twisted the gun out of the Asari's right hand and then used her knife to stab her in the throat. The two remaining commandos fired in Kasumi's direction and she jumped to the left and out of the way just in the nick of time. Kasumi had avoided being hit but now the two commandos had a clear path to Rael. Kasumi had to come up with some way to take them down.

Kasumi ran up behind the closest commando who was about five feet away and emptied her machine pistol into the Asari woman's back. The Asari was dead but now Kasumi was out of clips and using the flash from her gun the remaining commando had turned and was pointing her pistol at Kasumi. Kasumi then noticed that her cloak was only going to last a few more seconds. She didn't have time to think,she just had to act.

Kasumi dropped to the floor so that the first three shots that the Asari commando fired went over her head and missed. The commando was now about a yard away in front of Kasumi and as Kasumi's cloak went down she jumped up and grasped the commando by her left hand which was holding the gun. The woman struggled with each other but neither one could get the upper hand right away and both were trying to keep control of the gun. Kasumi headbutted the Asari woman hard. The woman let out a cry of pain and stumbled back about half a pace. This allowed Kasumi to knock the gun out of her hand and it went flying across the room and landed in front of the open door.

Kasumi turned toward the door intending to make a run for the gun but the Asari commando caught her left arm and held her in place. The commando then brought up her her left arm to try and hit Kasumi on the jaw but Kasumi caught the fist in her hand. They were now caught in each other's grips struggling for dominance again.

They were both of about equal height and weight with the Asari being maybe an inch taller then Kasumi,so it wasn't easy for either of them to take control of the situation. The commando then pushed forward with all of her strength and shoved Kasumi against the wall on the other side of the room hard. Kasumi let out a loud grunt as the wind was knocked out of her. She nearly doubled over from the pain but she held on to the other woman's arms. Neither of them could shake the other's grip on them.

Kasumi hated this. She liked thing quick and quiet but there seemed to be no end to this noisy mess. It was just an endless fight where she couldn't figure out how to get the upper hand and win it. If someone else came into the room now it would all be over. She needed to do something that would shake things up and change the game. She kneed the Asari in the gut,hard! The woman doubled over and lost her grip. Kasumi reached to pull out her knife but then the commando hit her jaw with an uppercut. Kasumi fell backwards onto the floor,dazed. Suddenly out of now where a shot was heard. Then before Kasumi could react the Asari that had been standing above her fell to the floor with a bullet hole in her spine. Kasumi looked and could see the Asari that she assumed was dead after she had been shot on the other side of the door holding the gun that had fallen over there. The wounded commando then dropped the gun and seemed to pass out from the effort of picking up the gun and firing the shot.

A few moments latter as Kasumi was picking herself off of the floor the three Asari who were left in the engine room came running into the hall and were just outside the medbay door with guns drawn. Kasumi wasn't sure what to do. She didn't have time to run for the gun on the floor. Her cloak was down,and there was nothing for her to take cover behind. Just then there was the sound of a rapid firing riffle off to the right where Kasumi couldn't see anything. All three Asari were hit by bullets and fell to the floor dead.

A few moments latter Ashley Williams stepped into the medbay and Kasumi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well finally,a friendly face!" Kasumi said with a relieved smile.

"Well I can see things got messy down here,is Rael okay?" Ashley asked her face showing concern.

"I'm okay,is it alright for me to stand up?"The boy called out trying his best to sound brave.

"Is that a grenade on your belt?" Kasumi asked Ashley excitedly.

"Yes,do you need it?" Ashley answered taking her last grenade off her belt and handing it to the other woman.

"Yes." Kasumi answered as she took the grenade. She then ran across the hall,pulled the pin,and tossed it into the engine room. Kasumi ran back into the medbay and covered her ears as there was a loud explosion across the hall and the whole deck shook.

"What did you do that for?" Ashley demanded giving Kasumi a hard look.

"Now they will not be able to restore power." Kasumi said with a smile.

"Well warn me next time you are going to blow up a room!" Ashley spat back.

"Alright I will,you don't need to shout." Kasumi responded equally harshly. Kasumi had not worked with this woman before and at the moment she was not enjoying it much. For her part Williams couldn't see why Shepard would ever put a woman like Kasumi on any team,she didn't seem to work well with others.

"Excuse me,can I get up yet?" Rael's voice interrupted the argument.

"Oh." Kasumi responded turning her head and running over the over turned biobed. In all the excitement she had completely forgotten about the boy. "Yes,you can. It's safe now." Ashley Williams walked up slowly behind Kasumi as the young Quarian child who lacked a facemask for his suit slowly stood up on shaky legs. The whole ordeal had clearly been a lot for him to take in. His eyes traveled from Kasumi's face up to Ashley.

"Are you another friend of my mom and dad?" Rael asked looking up at Ashley.

"Yes I am. I'm surprised you don't remember me,I have been to your house before." Ashley answered gently.

"I am sorry I don't remember you." The boy said looking at the floor.

"That's okay." Ashley said and she bent down to one knee and put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "What is important now is that we get you out of here. I need you to come with us and do exactly what we say,okay?"

"Okay." The boy said looking up at her again. This whole ordeal had clearly drained him of the energy needed to argue and on top of that he did not look too well.

Rael held out his hand to Kasumi,he clearly trusted her more and Kasumi took it. With Kasumi on his left hand side and Ashley on his right the two woman began to lead Rael out of the medbay. As much as they could the two woman tried to shield the boy from seeing the carnage that that was left from Kasumi's battle with the Asari but there was just too much blood. At one point Kasumi bent down to pick up some ammo for her pistol with out thinking and the boy was looking straight into the lifeless eyes of one of the dead commandos.

"A...aa..are they dead?" Rael asked shaking and unable to look away from the body.

Kasumi suddenly became aware of her mistake and yelled out. "Don't look,close your eyes!"

Rael slammed his eyes shut. "Okay I am not looking." He said and then asked again. "Are they dead."

"Yes hey are. They didn't give me any choice. They were going to kill us." Kasumi explained as she finished reloading her pistol and putting the spare clips on her belt.

"Oh." Was all the boy said in response. No one said anything else until they got to the door and had to step over the body of the Asari laying just outside the door. That was when Rael spoke up. "What about her?" he asked pointing to the woman in front of them on the floor.

"What about her?" Ashley asked,not sure what the boy was getting at.

"She helped us and she is still breathing,shouldn't we help her and take her with us." The boy asked looking up at Kasumi for support.

"We can't do that." Was Kasumi's response.

"Why not? My dad never left anyone who helped him behind and she will die if we leave her here right?" The boy asked as forcefully as he could. He knew how his dad had always done things and he didn't like the idea of leaving this woman to bleed to death at all. He was sure that was not what his father would do.

"Because we need to get you to safety." Ashley said and she tried to pull the boy past the Asari woman but he pulled loose from her grasp. Rael then knelt beside the Asari woman. "Would my dad leave her?!" He demanded looking up at the two woman who were with him.

Kasumi gave Ashley a look. "He doesn't want to leave anyone behind,He's a Shepard alright."

Ashley gave in with a sigh. "Alright but if it comes down to us getting out of here and leaving her,we will leave her. Understand?" She said in a tone that left no room for argument. She then bent down and applied Medi-gel to the three bullet wounds in the Asari woman to stop the bleeding.

"Help me get her up." Ashley said to Kasumi.

Kasumi came over and with Kasumi supporting the Asari's left side and Ashley supporting her left they started to make their way down the hall to the elevator.

"Stay behind us kid." Kasumi said looking at Rael. Rael nodded and took a position about a foot behind the rest of the group.

"What are you doing?" The Asari asked as she slowly became aware of what was going on.

"Something we shouldn't be doing." Ashley said grimly.

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Shepard was being held in the air by a stasis field and three Asari had raised their guns and were pointing them at him,he had to do something fast. It took all his strength and will power but Shepard found that he could move his left hand which was down at his side. He used it to grab an inferno grenade off of his belt and pull the pin. He then tossed it at the group of Asari commandos below him. Almost instantly the inter area the commandos were standing in burst into flame. The Asari cried out in pain and some of them dropped their weapons. The commando who was holding Shepard in the stasis field was unable to keep the field up and Shepard dropped to the deck landing on both feet in a crouching position. Shepard then began to unload his riffle into the Asari. Tali had been pinned down by enemy fire but now she began firing her shotgun into them as well. She also through two grenades of her own.

The Asari Commandos were now the ones on the defensive. Shepard's first instinct was to carefully advance slowly,but Tali was being relentless with her attack. She had soon thrown all six of her grenades and had gone through half her ammo and was still pushing forward. Shepard had to sprint to catch up. The commandos were not ready for this sudden push forward since only a minute or so ago they had the upper hand. They were either dropping dead or backing up down the hall. Tali wanted blood and she was getting it.

For his part Shepard found himself reduced to a support role. He was now dashing to keep up and taking down enemies that Tali seemed to miss because she was getting tunnel vision. Still at least for the moment it was working and the commandos were falling back. Even if the noise from the grenades going off and the shotgun being fired repeatedly in the small hall was deafening.

The last few commandos were then cornered against the wall. Shepard and Tali closed in. Shepard held out his last grenade in his left hand while holding his pistol in the other. The three commandos were getting ready to fight but then Shepard spoke in a commanding tone of voice.

"Look at what we have already done and think about the fact that I am John Shepard the man who united the galaxy and has stood in battle against reapers and lived to tell about it. I died and only came back to destroy the very creatures that killed me. Think about the fact that you are standing between me and my kids and ask yourself if this is really a battle you think you are going to win."

The Asari seemed to think about this for a moment and then they dropped their weapons.

"Smart choice,I was just going to kill you for taking my children." Tali said and then she and Shepard led them to the first empty room they had come to and locked the commandos inside.

It was then that Ashley Williams' voice came over the comlink. "We have Rael and he is safe." She said. "I repeat we have Rael and he is safe."

"Oh thank you." Tali replied into her comlink and there was no mistaking the relief in her voice.

"Good,get him to the shuttle as quickly as you can. Shepard commanded. "Grunt start falling back to the shuttle too."

"If you insist." The Krogan answered. "But I am have not had this much fun in years."

Tali was the next person who spoke. "John do you hear that?" She asked looking at him.

"You mean the ringing in my ears from the way you kept throwing those grenades,you bet I hear it." Shepard answered.

"No I don't mean that I mean that sound,it sounds a little like voices." Tali responded.

Shepard listened hard and he did hear a sound that seemed to be coming from inside a room that was about four feet down the hall from them. "Now that you mention it I do hear something." Shepard said. "It sounds like.."

"Raan and Jeff!" Both Shepard and Tali yelled at once. They ran up to the door and it took a few moments but Shepard was able to force the door open. They then looked into a completely dark room. It looked like it had once been an armory but there was nothing in it any more except a lot of monitoring equipment. They hear Jeff's voice coming from the middle of the room and what sounded like Raan crying.

"What is going on? What happened to the lights? What is all that noise?" Jeff was asking desperately.

"Jeff,Raan it's okay. Mom and Dad are here. We said we would come." Tali said trying to sound firm but comforting at the same time. At last they found the source of the sound and were able to see the kids.

The kids were in the middle of the room hugging each other and Raan was still holding Pabilo tightly as if the stuffed bear was some sort of lifeline to her past life. They were attached to the floor by a couple of restraints that were locked around each of their left legs and only allowed them to move a few feet in any direction. Tali rushed forward and hugged them.

"OH I am so happy to see you,are you alright? Are you hurt? It's so good to see you." She said in between tears.

"I'm fine,but I can't move." Jeff said pointing to the restraint around his leg.

"I'm okay too." Raan said but she sounded like she couldn't quite believe what was happening. "But I can't move either and they took Rael somewhere else. We don't know if he is okay."

"He is fine." Shepard said stepping forward. "Some friends of ours got to him,he will be okay." He then bent down and hugged the kids,he wanted them to know that they were safe now and there was no way he was going to let anything else happen to them.

It was then that joker's voice came over the comlink. He sounded worried. "Shepard I don't know what happened but that whole Asari fleet just turned around. You may want to hurry it up so we can leave and my ship doesn't get blown out of the stars."

Shepard activated his Omni-Blade and used it to cut the restraints around Jeff and Raan's legs. He then picked up Jeff and left Tali to pick up Raan and yelled into his comlink. "Alright,Everyone to the shuttle. Get to the shuttle we need to leave now!"

As they existed the room they ran into Ashley,Kasumi,and Grunt coming down the hall. Grunt was carrying Rael now and Kasumi and Ashley were supporting an Asari Shepard did not know.

"Who is that?" Shepard demanded.

"Someone who helped us." Was the only answer he got from Kasumi. There was no time to argue so Shepard just nodded and said "We will figure out what to do with her once we get her stable on the Normandy."

"Rael take this." Tali said and she reached into one of her pockets and pulled out Rael's face mask. The boy quickly put it on.

Everyone then made a dash to the cargo bay. When they got there they found that Samara had secured it and Garrus was in the pilot's seat. Everyone began piling into the shuttle. The last person in was Shepard he had is back to the cargo bay and was just climbing in when there was the sound of a loud shot. Shepard cried out in pain and fell face first onto the floor of the shuttle. The children started to scream. Shepard could barely move but he pulled himself into the shuttle. Now everyone could make out what had happened. He had been shot in the back with a shotgun by an Asari commando who had come out from behind one of the cargo containers.

Before anyone could stop her Tali jumped out of the shuttle and charged at the commando with a yell. She knocked the stunned Asari woman to the deck and leaped on top on her pinning the commando in place. She then started hitting the woman with the butt of her shotgun. "Stop! Fucking! With My Family!" She yelled and then she turned the shotgun around and fired it point blank into the Asari Commando's face.

Tali then returned to hitting the corps,she was controlled by a mixture of sadness and rage. Kasumi ran up behind her and pulled her off of the Asari body. "Come on,we need to get Shepard and your kids to the Normandy!" She said urgently.

This seemed to do the trick and Tali ran for the shuttle,and she and Kasumi leaped in and slammed the door shut. The shuttle took off just as another group of commandos entered the cargo bay.

"Hold on!" Garrus shouted and he jammed the shuttle up to it's top speed and made a beeline for the Normandy.

Tali didn't waste any time she saw that the wound in her husbands back was bad. She used Medi-Gel to stop the bleeding and got on the com with the Normandy. "We have wounded!" She reported urgently. " please meet the shuttle in the cargo bay."

"Is dad going to be okay?" A very worried and frightened Raan asked her mother.

"Dad is going to be fine." Shepard croaked out,looking up at the girl from the floor of the shuttle. "I have had worse and is the best." He then passed out from the pain and effort of talking.

Tali couldn't say anything,She just held all three of the kids close. There were no words to express how grateful and worried she was at the same time so she just held the children close.

A minute or so latter the shuttle touched down in the Normandy's cargo bay hard. A moment after that they felt the inter ship shake as Joker activated the alien device. The door to the shuttle then opened and revealed standing outside with a full medkit. Everyone piled out of the shuttle but no one felt like leaving the cargo bay. They just stood around for a few minutes as looked over the two figures on the floor of the shuttle. She came out with a grave look on her face but she didn't speak to anyone there instead she got on the com.

""Captain we need to get to the nearest hospital,Shepard had taken a direct hit to his spine and I can't treat it on the Normandy. Minutes count. If we wait to get to the Citadel he could lose the use of his legs or his life."

Tali let out a shocked gasp but didn't say anything,she knew better then to get in the good doctor's way.

A moment latter Joker's voice came over the ship's intercom. "Very well." He said. "We are on our way to Thessia,ETA five minutes."

**Okay sorry about how long that took. In case you have not figured it out yet the one thing I have a real problem writing are action scenes and I am very sorry about that because I know it leaves you hanging some times and I can only say how grateful I am that none of you have gotten mad and given up on my story. I'm sorry but plot and character moments just flow when I write them but I have a real hard time coming up with action scenes so sometimes those chapters take me a really long time to write. Again I am sorry and thank for your time and support. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.**


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

The Normandy came in for an emergency landing at the capital city of Thessia not far from the planet's largest hospital. Thessia was no longer the "Crown Jewel of the Galaxy" as it had been for thousands of years past. Barely anything remained of the old Thessia after the Reaper's attack back during the war. The buildings and streets no longer reached hundreds of feet into the sky,they had been reduced to rubble. Much had been rebuilt but it was now on the ground and on a much smaller scale then before. There were still piles of rubble from the old Thessia everywhere. They had been pushed into neat piles but there was no way to get rid of that much rubble. What could be used was being used in rebuilding Thessia but new Thessia was nothing like the old. Rebuilding was slow work since less then a third of the population had survived the Reapers. Aliens rarely came to Thessia any more since there wasn't much to see and no one who had seen the old Thessia could leave with out feeling sad. The Asari had survived but the Reapers had taken much of their way of life from was now only one government not the many that had spread across the planet before,that was how few people were left. Thessia was now a bitter sweet world as opposed to being the world of joy it had been before the war.

Once the Normandy landed and it's cargo bay doors had been opened emergency med techs that had been waiting rushed in with stretchers. They made sure Shepard and the Asari were stable and then put them onto the stretchers and raced out of the ship. Tali started to follow but Ashley Williams stepped in front and blocked her path.

"What are you doing?" Tali demmanded.

"I am sorry but I don't have the man power to keep you safe on this planet,I can't let you go." Ashley responded.

"I don't care,I will take the chance! I am going with John!" Tali yelled and she tried to push her way past Ashley but the human woman stood firm.

"I know you don't care right now." Ashley said looking Tali in the eyes and putting a hand on her shoulder. "But you need to think about them." Ashley then motioned to the children who were standing a few feet behind them. "I grew up in a military family and I know what it is like not to know if your father is going to live or die. Please listen to me when I say they need you now."

Tali seemed to calm down and she took a breath. "Yeah I understand. I don't know what I was thinking,thanks Ashley." Tali said at last. Ashley nodded her understanding and then Grunt walked up. "Don't worry Tali Shepard is my battle master and I will stand watch over him,he will not leave my sight. Once there is anything to know I will contact you." The Krogan said.

"Thanks Grunt." Was all Tali could say,to tell the truth at that moment she was feeling drained. Grunt then followed the Asari med techs off of the ship. Samara was following him. "I will make sure the prisoner does not escape." She explained and then the Justicare left. Tali then turned her attention to the kids behind her. She could tell that they were all scared and very tired after their long ordeal. She hoped John made it because for one thing she couldn't imagine working her way through the issues that were sure took come up with out him. It just didn't bare thinking about.

"He is going to be okay." Tali said answering the question before it was asked. "Why don't we get something to eat?" She said bending down so she was eye level with the kids. She then noticed something was wrong,Rael seemed to be having trouble staying on his feet. "Rael are you okay?" she asked reaching for the child.

"I don't feel good." was all he said weakly. Then before Tali could reach him he fell on the floor.

" I need help over here!" Tali cried out her voice in near panic.

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Adril had spent the last day trying to find out what had happened to his employer . So far all he had been able to find out was that no body had been recovered from the mansion. He had gone to bed that past evening with a heavy heart. He had been woken up by an information broker who claimed to have some news for him. So he had gotten up after just a few hours sleep and made his way to a small kiosk in the presidium.

It was early and there were only a few people around. The Citadel used artificial light but when it's orbit brought it in range the light of the Earth's sun still poured in. The Citadel now mostly operated on earth time as a result. This took some time for aliens to get used to and Adril was no exception. It seemed odd to have a space station operating like a planet but Humans were mostly running it now and that was the way they liked it. Adril had to admit that there was something comforting about the natural light that did get in. He was thinking of this when a Volus walked up to him.

"Are you ?" The Volus asked looking up at Adril.

"Informative,I am. I take you are Barla Von."

"I am. I understand you are looking for any information that could lead to a group of Humans that may have taken an Elcor prisoner." Barla Von said simply.

"That is correct. Inquiry,Do you have any information?"

"I do. You must understand that this may not be a direct link but it could lead you to the people you are looking for. The fee for this information is 200 credits,are you able to pay?"

"I understand and I will transfer the credits to your account once I have seen the information." Adril replied.

"Very well have a look at this data pad." Barla Von said holding out a small data pad. Adril looked at it,it was exactly the sort of thing he had been looking for.

"As you can see." Barla Von explained. "It details a shipment to a member of the Earth Clan or restraints and interigation devices specially made for Elcor a day before the attack."

"Understanding,This will help me a great deal." Adril then used his Omni-Tool to pay Barla Von and copy the contents of the data pad. He then handed it back to the Volus and made his way to the nearest elevator. He had mixed emotions about this information. On the one hand he was glad to have a lead but on the other he now new that Leldo may have some information that the Humans were trying to extract from him. That meant that he was most likely in a lot of pain right now,and what if he didn't have the information the humans thought he had? All these facts seemed to point to Leldo not having much time. Adril got off the elevator and made his way to the small room he had rented. He knew he had to contact someone,but he was not sure who he could trust.

Finally he made is way over to the com unit on the far wall of his room.

"Computer I wish to send a message to Spectre Garrus Vatarian on the Normandy,please mark it urgent." It was a long shot if Garrus would be able to do anything from where he was but the Turian was the only person Adril knew for sure he could trust.

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Aria had set up shop in her opulent apartment since her office had been destroyed when Jacob and Miranda had arrested her. Aria sat on a large couch and was talking to her assistant Tola. The younger Asari woman had a black eye and the whole right side of her face was swollen from when Jacob hit her with the butt of his shotgun.

"As long as I get rid of Taylor and Lawson before Shepard gets back the rescue of those brats will not set me." Aria said thinking to herself out loud.

"But now you have no way to control who replaces them." Tola pointed out.

"True but that will not matter if Shepard returns it will be a long time from now and I will be able to use his rash actions to weaken him so that it will not matter who he appoints." Aria replied.

"But they are sure to expose why they went after you." Tola protested.

"Even if they do there is no way it can be linked directly back to me and by then Shepard will have died in such a way that it will bring the people of the galaxy over to support me." Aria answered with a smug smile.

"You are going to have him killed?" Tola asked shocked.

"Of course I am. He is on Thesia so he is in my power and now I know he has another one of those devices,so I will then have control of two of them and since it will look like my enemies killed him everyone will believe my story that he was there at my request to stop them. That together with the faked holo recordings of Taylor and Lawson should seal my victory and makes sure that the rest of the galaxy either stays out of our war or comes in on our side. Even if Shepard survives somehow he will be a broken man after what I am going to do to him and I will be ready for him when he comes after me."

"You seem to have thought of everything." Tola said in awe.

"Yes of course I have,now come on we have a lot of work to do." Aria said standing up.

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Rael was laying on a biobed in the Normandy's med bay. Tali was sitting in a chair beside him holding his hand and watching his vital signs. Jeff and Raan had eaten and fallen asleep a short time before. They were too scared to be parted from their mother so they were on two other biobeds. had gotten Rael stable and given him some medicine for the infection his body was fighting and retired to her quarters. All in all it had been a long couple of days for everyone but Tali didn't want to go to sleep until Rael woke up and she had news about Shepard. Tali let out a yawn and then shook her head to keep herself awake. It was then that the boy stirred.

"I'm hot and thirsty." He said sleepily.

"Rael you are awake!" Tali said with relief showing in her voice,she then reached over and hugged Rael.

"Mom am I okay?" The boy asked weakly.

"Oh yes you are fine you just have an infection but you will get over it." Tali answered quickly.

"Is that why I feel so hot and thirsty,can I have some water?" The boy asked.

"Oh right,sure." Tali answered and she got up and walked to the small fridge at the other side of the room. She took out a plastic container of water that had been purified for Quarians and was designed to be drank through a small hole in the suit's mask with out letting germs in. She then returned and handed it to Rael who took it gratefully and began gulping down the water.

Tali was really too tired to speak so she just sat there half way between being awake and asleep not speaking. Rael was the one who broke the silence. "I'm sorry." The boy said quietly not looking up at his mother.

"What for?" Tali asked puzzeled.

"For taking off my mask. You always told us not to take off our masks when we are not on the home world and I did it any way. I'm sorry I just didn't want to be taken by those people,but what I did didn't work. I'm sorry I disobeyed."

Tali hugged the boy and forced him to look at her as she spoke. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You did the right thing,do you understand. It's not your fault that you got taken and it's not your fault that you got sick."

"But I took my mask off and if I had done something else maybe we would not have been taken. It feels like my fault." The boy protested sadly.

"Well it is not and don't worry about getting sick,you will be okay." Tali said forcefully.

"How can you be sure?" Rael asked.

"Because I got sick like you once,in fact a lot of Quarians have and I am alright."

"When and why would you take your mask off?" Rael asked sitting up a little,he seemed very interested.

"It was years ago." Tali began to explain. "Do you remember how I told you once that the Quarians didn't always have a world of our own and at that time we had to spend our whole lives in our suits?" Rael nodded. "Well your father and I were on a mission on this ship,the Normandy to take down an evil alien race known as The collectors."

"Who were they and why did they need to be stopped?" Rael asked excitedly. Tali had not intended to go into much detail but Rael had always loved stories full of action and adventure and this story seemed to be getting his mind off of the kidnapping and being sick. Tali was also glad of the distraction herself and taking about something like the suicide mission that she and Shepard came back alive from helped give her faith that Shepard would pull through the current problem fine. So Tali spent the next hour and a half or so telling Rael all about how The Collectors had been kidnapping Humans and how she had joined Shepard and he had helped her with her trial for treason. Rael had a hard time believing that part. In his life his mother had always been a respected hero so to hear she was once tried for treason was very hard for the boy to believe. She then went on to tell him about how they had gone to the space station in the galactic core that served as the Collectors' home world and had destroyed it and gotten out just in the nick of time. By the time she had finished telling the whole story Tali couldn't remember why she had started telling it in the first place.

Rael brought things back full to where they started. "But what does this have to do with you getting sick?" The boy asked.

"Well before went through the Omega 4 relay we didn't know if we were going to come back alive and I wanted your father to see my face. He had never seen it before so I took off my mask and let him see it." Tali explained. She didn't see the need to tell the child the rest of what happened that night. "Any way a day or so after that I got sick and it took me about two weeks to get better,so you see this is normal for Quarians and you are going to be fine."

"Okay." Rael said and then he began to fall asleep,Tali despite her best efforts joined him a few minutes latter.

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Kasumi Goto entered the main battery on the Normandy's third deck. This was where Garrus stayed most of the time when he was on the Normandy.

"Hello! Garrus are you here!" Kasumi called out to the seemingly empty room.

"Over here." she heard a voice call out. She followed it and found Garrus lying on a cot to the right of the main guns. He seemed to be working on them as best as he could from the cot.

"Garrus what are you doing?" Kasumi asked walking up to him.

"Well Chalkwas was not happy with what doing on the mission did to my legs so she put me on bed rest for the next three days,so I figured I would calibrate the main guns. Every time I leave this ship someone seems to screw them up." Garrus explained.

"I am pretty sure when she said bed rest she didn't mean for you to be leaning halfway out of an army cot and working on a giant gun all day." Kasumi pointed out.

"Well I have to do something useful,besides since when do doctors know anything. If they had it their way we would all only eat fruit and walk around in bubble wrap all day. Someone has to stand up to them!" Garrus replied.

Kasumi laughed a little at this. "But what if you hurt your legs again. How useful of a Spectre can you be limping around?" Kasumi protested.

"You didn't see me one this last mission. I don't need to be able to run to be deadly,I'm the best shot in the galaxy as my contest with Shepard proved." Garrus said looking up at Kasumi with a smile on his face.

"But maybe there are people who worry about you and don't want to see you spend the rest of your life limping." Kasumi added crossly while giving Garrus a hard look and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Would you be one of those people?" Garrus asked looking up at her and stopping his work for the first time since they had started talking.

"I don't know...maybe." Kasumi answered timidly while uncrossing her arms,she didn't look Garrus in the eyes when she said it.

"Well those people should know me well enough by now to know that I have to live my life my own way and that is never going to change." Garrus said tersely.

This didn't make Kasumi any happier but she could see this conversation was going nowhere so she decide to change the subject. She reached into her pockets and pulled some things out. She handded them to Garrus.

"What are these?" Garrus asked puzzled.

"I went and did some shopping. I needed some new clothes and while out I got you some vids and this book to keep you from going crazy while stuck here." Kasumi explained. Garrus looked through the small pile. The vids were a mixture of classic and newer Human movies,but it was the book that interested him. The book was entitled _Tactics:A complete history of Human warfare._

"Kasumi thanks a lot." Garrus said lamely he wasn't sure what else to say.

"Well I will get out of your hair now." Kasumi said and she turned to walk out of the room.

"Wait!" Garrus called out and she stopped. "I just want you to know that I was worried about you too."A small smile that Garrus couldn't see passed over Kasumi's lips. "And would you like to watch one of these vids with me? I think I have done enough calibrating for one day."

Kasumi turned around and answered him. "That sounds like it could be fun."

**Well there you have chapter 29,thanks for reading.**


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Ashley Williams stood guard outside the door to the operating room were Asari doctor were operating on President John Shepard but this was not enough for Grunt. Shepard was Grunt's battle master and Grunt was not about to leave his side. At first this looked like it was going to be a problem but the doctor in charge seemed to care more about the patient in her care then rules so once Grunt agreed to leave his blood stained armor and weapons in the waiting area he was allowed inside.

Grunt watched the doctors work and wished that he had been taught more about Humans in the tank then just how to kill them. He had no way of telling if things were going well or badly. All he could do was stand in the corner and hope the doctors knew what they were doing. He hated these situation,he was created to fight wars and yet all he could do was stand by and let other people do the work.

Grunt thought back to how he had come to be here and he found it strange. He had been bred to help the Krogan conquer the galaxy and yet it had been a Human who had woken him and who he served under. He had been created as a way around the Genophage and had seen it cured a few years after he was created. He had been created to fight wars but was now diplomat because he was the only person both Wrex and Shepard trusted one hundred percent and the old grudges of the Krogan with other races meant nothing to him. He didn't enjoy politics at all but he understood that Shepard his battle master needed him where he was so that was were he had stayed. Now just minutes after a battle he stood in a corner on the Asari home world standing guard over his human battle master. Life was strange and there was no telling where it would lead you next.

The operation took hours but it felt like days,at last the doctor's stopped working and sewed up the incesions they had made in Shepard's back. Grunt walked up to the doctor who seemed to be in charge.

"Is he okay?" Grunt demanded gruffly.

The doctor didn't seemed to be bothered by Grunts terse manor and just answered him calmly. "I think he will be fine but we will not know for sure until he wakes up. We are about to move him into a recovery room. I am guess you will want to go with him."

"Yes,i will follow him now." Grunt said and with that he walked out of the operating room beside the bed that held Shepard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

Compared to Shepard's surgery Nala's was simple. Her surgery was just a matter of patching up holes and replacing lost blood. She found herself waking up a few hours latter and the first person she saw was the Justicar Samara standing at the foot of her bed.

"Where am I?" Nala asked her throat was dry and sore and her voice was just above a whisper.

"You are in a hospital on Thessia." Samara answered coldly.

"So I guess I have you to thank for saving my life."

"You owe me no thanks. If I would have left you to bleed to death on that ship,but Shepard does not live by the code so he brought you with us. It was a mistake that should not have been made." Samara said bluntly.

"Those were Shepard's kids we were holding?!" Nala asked clearly shocked. "No wonder we were in over our heads. I can't believe counselor T'Loak would in danger the whole movement by doing something that stupid."

Samara did not respond in any way she just continued watching the Asari woman as she sat up in the bed.

"You could at least say something!" Nala fumed. "You know if I had just shot that brat I wouldn't be in this mess right now!"

"Failing to commit one evil act does not make your heart pure. You are still evil and I am only here to ensure that you do not escape. I am not here to help you or to talk to you." Samara responded flatly.

"So that is all there is to it,some people are good and some people are bad and the bad ones should die?" Nala challenged.

"I live by the code,I would not expect someone like you to understand what it is to live your life for others and reject selfishness and evil." Samara replied.

"The code?" Nala asked more to herself then to Samara. "So you are her?"

"Who do you think I am?" Samara asked.

"The last Justicar,the last of the old order to survive the war and hold onto the old code. Most people think you are a myth."

"I am no myth. I am simply an Asari who lives by the code and will continue to bring order and justice to the galaxy. I see no reason to continue speaking with you."

"Fine but at least I make my own choices,you just hide behind a code to avoid making choices. My guess is that once a choice went really bad for you so you now let this code dictate what you do so that things are always out of your hands. At least I have the courage to make choices and live with them." Nala said giving the older Justicar a hard look.

"You know nothing about me or my past!" Samara yelled stepping a few feet closer to the bed.

"You know nothing about me or mine but that doesn't stop you from judging me."

"Your actions speak for themselves."

"What actions?" Nala asked pointedly. "Working on a ship that I didn't know was going to be party to a kidnapping or trying to save the Asari people?"

"The Asari can't be saved by people like you or Aria T'Loak . Your actions can bring nothing but destruction."

"Have your people and your code done any better?!" Nala demanded. "You have stood by for thousands of years while pure bloods and demons have weakened the Asari people to the point where we were nearly wiped out in the war and now we have no say in the operations of a galaxy we used to run. We have gone from being the greatest people to being a dying race of monsters,and what have you and your code done about it?!"

Samara knew that she should not continue to engage the younger woman but she could not help herself,something compelled her to continue.

"I am my order were out their ridding the galaxy of evil before you were born." Samara continued.

"You spent hundreds of years tracking down on fugitive as our world grew weaker and weaker. I respect what the Justicars stand for but it was not enough our race is dying now." Nala said and then there was a slight hint of a tear in one of her eyes. "We became so weak that when my sister was murdered by an Ardat-Yakshi our government couldn't catch her but they could order us not to talk about it to avoid a panic. They let the murder go because no one could stop her and then forced us to keep quiet as if my sister was to blame for the way she died."

"I am truly sorry for your loss." Samara said softening a little. "Still you must know T'Loak has murdered many,why listen to her?"

"Because she was the first person in power who has ever spoken publicly about our races biggest problems and she has a plan for dealing with them. She used her money and contacts to keep people from starving to death after the war,and she is the only one I have heard who has a plan for dealing with our problems instead of sweeping them under the rug and hoping they will go away on their own." Nala responded.

"So you will follow her even if she does things like killing children?" Samara asked in shock.

"You don't understand because you are too busy honoring your code and that code means that your work will never be done,but for most of us we have been living with out hope for a long time. We have been fighting a battle against what we will become that we are told we will lose at some point. T'Loak has told us that the battle is not hopeless. For the first time because of her leadership the future is not something to be feared. Your code doesn't offer that kind of hope so it can't compete with what T'Loak offers and that is why we will do almost anything she asks of us."

Samara didn't say anything,she just stood there thinking. She could see the look of faith that only a true believer has in Nala's eyes. Clearly things were much worse for the Asari then she had believed and breaking Aria T'Loak's hold on her people was going to be a lot harder then she had first thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

"So that was Dirty Harry." Garrus said to Kasumi. He was sitting up with his legs stretched out on his cot in the main battery looking at the large terminal on the wall opposite him. Kasumi was sitting in a chair next him on his right. "Well I will say this for him,that guy knew how to get things done."

"I thought you would enjoy it." Kasumi said with a small smile.

"Yeah well he didn't play around with that killer or take any bullshit. That is what I liked. Still it is hard to believe that just two hundred years ago your people lived like that." Garrus said turning to look at Kasumi.

"I know what you mean." Kasumi replied. "No omni-tools I am not sure I could live that way."

"What about the lack of personal communication devices? I mean not being able to get a hold of or find people and taking hours just to travel a few thousand miles. I don't know how cops did it back then."

"Yeah I guess we have come a long way in a short time." Kasumi replied. "I suppose there was a period like this for every race including the Turians when they go from not have space travel to being part of the large galaxy."

"Yeah but I don't think any other race has taken a leading role in the galaxy as quickly as you have,there is something remarkable about Humans."

"Well I have found that some Turians can be remarkable too." Kasumi said and she leaned in a little closer to Garrus.

"Well I have found that some Humans stand out as more remarkable then others." Garrus said and before he knew what was happening he found himself kissing Kasumi. He tried to pull back but she jumped on top of him and would not break the kiss and then to his surprise he found himself not wanting to break the kiss.

"I am so glad I didn't lose you." Kasumi said as she reached down and took off Garrus' shirt.

"I am glad I didn't lose you too,this looks like it's going to be fun." Garrus said as his breath got shorter and then he pulled Kasumi into another kiss.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

Raan woke up from her nightmare screaming,this caused her to wake up Jeff who was in the bed next to her's.

"Raan stop screaming I am trying to sleep!" Jeff yelled at her. Raan could not respond she was too short of breath. She just sat up in her bed panicked and frozen with fear taking quick short breaths. Tali ran over to the girl. "Mom make her be quiet." Jeff said between to yawns,Tali turned and looked at him. "Go back to sleep I will take care of this." She said and then she got up on the bed with Raan and just held her close and began rubbing her back.

"It's okay it was just a bad dream." Tali repeated these words over and over again to the crying child for what seemed like hours. Finally she began to calm down and he breathing got under control.

"I'm sorry mom I know it wasn't real but I am so scared." The girl said between sobs.

"It's okay,it's okay to be scared. You didn't do anything wrong." Tali's heart was breaking she didn't know what else to say or what to do to make things better. How could things ever get better,how do you take away fear from a child that now knows you can't protect them all the time. What could she say that would undo the damage that had been done by all the death the girl had seen. Tali knew she had to be strong but beyond that she didn't know what else to do. She felt like she had failed at the most important task in her life but she didn't have time to feel sorry for herself. Tali didn't know what else to do so she just kept holding Raan,for the moment that seemed to be good enough.

"I dreamed that you and dad didn't come and then the bad people shot Jeff and then me." The girl said between sobs.

"It's okay,we have you and I am not going to let anything like that happen to you again." Tali said softly.

"I am just so scared."

"I know I know but the nightmares will go away. We are all going to be okay." Tali said as she continued the hug the girl. "You know I sometimes have nightmares too,there is nothing wrong with being scared."

"Why would you have nightmares?" Raan asked.

"Because I have seen scary things too. Everyone gets scared and when you do just call for me and I will be her for you,Okay?" Tali explained.

"Okay." Raan answered after a few seconds.

Tali just sat there holding her until a few minutes later when the com unit on her Omni-Tool beeped.

"Yes what is it?" Tali said as she opened up the viewer. The face of Ashley Williams appeared on the display.

"I just thought I would let you know that Shepard is out of surgery and the doctors have given us the okay to move him back to the Normandy to recover. We should be there in five to ten minutes."

"That is wonderful news!" Tali said with a sigh of relief. "Did you hear that Raan?" she asked.

"Yes I did,does this mean Dad's going to be Okay."

"Yes your father is going to be just fine." Tali said cheerfully and for the first time since she woke up Raan seemed really calm or as calm as she could be expected to be given everything the little girl had been through in the past couple of days.

A short while latter the large med bay doors opened and Grunt was pushing the stretcher that Shepard was sleeping on inside. With him were Ashley Williams and . It took a few minutes for to get Shepard settled and check him out as best she could and by then Shepard was beginning to stir and slowly wake up.

"I think this going to be more of a family moment." Ashley said. "We will be outside." She signaled to a confused looking Grunt to follow her and they both walked out and stood just outside the medbay doors. Ashley then got on the com to talk to Joker. "Joker get this ship in the air and put us in a low orbit,Shepard may have to go back to the hospital for follow up work but while we are waiting I don't want us to be a sitting duck for Aria's agents."

"Can do." Joker replied and a few seconds latter the ship came to life and everyone felt it lifting off of the ground.

"Well at least that bitch will not be able to do any more damage." Grunt observed. "I can't wait to get back to the Citadel and take her down."

"You and me both." Ashley replied.

Meanwhile in the med bay Shepard was beginning to wake up. He was very groggy and stiff but he was not in any pain. Chakwas was trying to check him out but the moment he opened his eyes she couldn't stop the kids and Tali from rushing over to the bed he was laying in.

"Dad you are alright!" Jeff yelled as he was the first to make it to the bedside.

Well I am now that I am seeing all of you." Shepard replied. "See I told you had been through much worse,everything is going to be fine now."

"We were all worried." Raan said and she climbed up onto the bed.

"Well you don't have to worry any more." Shepard said hugging her. "I am just fine,I little sore but fine ."

Shepard thought he spotted a small grim pass over face and she stood behind his family.

"Rael you feeling alright?" Shepard asked when he noticed that the boy had not gotten out of his bed.

"Yeah I am fine dad,just a little sick." Rael said trying to be brave.

"Well don't worry it looks like we are both going to be stuck here for a while,I'm sure the doc will have us both up and about in no time." Shepard said with a smile.

It was then that stepped forward. "I hate to break up this family moment but there are some tests I need to run now." The older woman said and then she looked down at the kids. "You can have him back in a few minutes,this shouldn't take long." She explained.

Tali then scooted the children away and began running her tests. I few minutes latter she spoke. "Okay just one final thing,your upper body seemed to be fine I just need to check your lower body. Shepard." She was then interrupted by Jeff saying "Say what do you want?" and then the boy laughed. "I didn't mean you." She said turning to face the boy with a smile and then she turned back. "I meant John Shepard here. Can you lift your right leg in the air for me?" Chakwas asked.

"Sure." Shepard replied cheerfully.

A few seconds latter a look of concern pasted over Chakwas' face. "Can you lift your left leg for me?" She asked.

"Of course." Shepard said not liking the look that she had on her face. A few seconds latter looked at him gravely. "Come on doc spit it out." Shepard said at last. He had an idea of what she was about to tell him and he just wanted to get it over with.

"I am sorry to say this but it looks like the damage to your spine has resulted in your losing control of your lower body. Your legs did not move and your feet did not respond to pain when I pricked your toes with a needle."

There were several gasps in the medbay as everyone took in this news. Tali wanted to cry but she stayed strong for the children. The kids were not sure what to make of this news other then it being bad. At any other time in his life Shepard would have vented his frustration by throwing something across the room,but he knew that would not help his family so he kept calm. He did what he always did in combat,he buried his feelings and just dealt with the problem at hand.

"What does this mean for me?" Shepard asked looking up at Chakwas.

"Well it is too early to tell for sure but it could very well mean that you will never regain use of your legs and you could spend the rest of you life in a wheelchair."

Tali couldn't stop a cry of "No!" from escaping her lips.

Shepard took a moment to think and then replied. "Well at least I am not dead,Thanks Doc."

"Hey everyone come here." He called his family over to him. No one knew what to say and he could tell they were all on the verge of tears. Shepard didn't really know what to say so again he fell back on his military training and just dealt with the problem as best he could making up his reply as he went along. "Look everyone I know this is not going to be easy but if there is any way for me to walk again I am sure will find it and if I don't well I am still alive and as long as I have you guys that will be enough for me. Don't be sad,I am alive and I have all of you okay. Please. Now can someone give me a hug?"

Everyone even Rael came forward and hugged him. "See." Shepard said wiping a tear from his eye. "Everything is going to be fine."

A few seconds latter there was a loud boom and then they found themselves in total and complete darkness and all noise stopped except for the kids screaming. "Quiet!" Shepard yelled urgently. "I need to listen." A listened for a few second and then yelled into the darkness. "Tali is you Omni-Tool working?"

"No it's not." Her voice answered from somewhere in the darkness.

"Mine isn't either." Shepard said. "We must have been hit with some kind of EMP weapon that knocked out all power. Okay it's going to be hard in the dark but everyone one needs to find their emergency crash stations and strap themselves in." Shepard ordered.

"Why what is happening?" The voice of a frightened Jeff asked.

"The ship doesn't have power that means it's going to crash and we need to be ready." Shepard explained. "We may only have a minute or so before we hit the ground,hurry!"

**Well that was chapter 30. Sorry it took so long but life got crazy with the two biggest problems being that my keyboard broke and I am training a new two year old dog who howls every time he is left in a room alone. Oh and I do know that in the games Garrus was always in body armor but I assume that is because it's hard to put a character into a new outfit in a video game so the programers kept it simple. For the purpose of this story I am assuming that Garrus doesn't wear that armor all the time and he has some sort of casual wear that he puts on when he isn't on a mission. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for your support.**


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson were escorted under heavy guard to their hearing before the counsel. Vice President Tactus sat in the chair that was normally reserved for President Shepard and no one was there to represent the Krogan but other then that the whole counsel was there. Miranda looked around and noted that none of the faces seemed very friendly. If she didn't think of something fast this could be a very short hearing and then she and Jacob would be on trial for their lives. She didn't want to think about what their chances were if they went to trial. They had attacked Aria so they were guilty. Their best hope was that Shepard would be back soon and somehow get them off the hook.

Tactus could be trusted to run a fair hearing but that was all. He would not vouch for Miranda or Jacob. He and Shepard didn't always see eye to eye but Shepard had picked him as his VP because he was respected by all the races and he was honest. He had been in charge of the refuges on the Citadel back during the war and had won the respect of all the races because of how fair he had been. He went with facts and stuck with the law and didn't let personal feelings get in the way of anything. If Aria could prove Jacob and Miranda were guilty of treason he would have no problem with voting to send them to trial. The fact was that without Grunt or Shepard there no one at this hearing was really on their side.

Miranda and Jacob knew better then to show fear. Any sign of fear would just make them look more guilty. They stood proudly in the center of the room as Tactus called the meeting to order and described the charges that were being made against them. No one could tell what they were feeling by looking at their faces,they were unreadable.

Councilor Jackson of Earth began speaking as soon a Tactus was done. "I wish for it to be noted in the records that Humanity objects to this hearing being held with out President Shepard or the councilor for the Krogan being present." It seemed that there was one councilor who was on Miranda and Jacob's side after all.

"It's so noted." Tactus replied and then added. "However I do have full emergency powers when the President can not be reached. We have tired to get in contact with him but there has been no reply so there are no real grounds for objections."

Jacob and Miranda reacted to this news,a look of shock and worry pasted over both their faces.

"Wait! You can't contact Shepard?!" Jacob interrupted. "Do you know what happened to him?"

"Executor Taylor you are out of order." Tactus said in reply.

"If I may have the floor for a moment Mr. Vice President I would like to explain why President Shepard is not here." Aria said standing up.

"This should be good." Jacob said loudly.

"I will have order or this hearing will continue without you!" Tactus warned before answering Aria. "The chair yields to the councilor for the Asari."

"Thank you." Aria said politely and then began speaking calmly. "I am afraid it is my fault that President Shepard is out of contact. You see there is an internal dispute between factions on Thessia. However both sides agreed to allow President Shepard to mediate the dispute so I asked him to and he agreed. So he is on Thessia at this moment dealing with the dispute."

"That's a lie!" Miranda yelled out before being interrupted by Tactus. "This is the last time I am going to warn you to maintain order in these chambers. If there is one more outburst both you and executor Taylor will be removed from these chambers." Miranda and Jacob decided to be quiet. They didn't want to listen to Aria's lies but at the moment it seemed they had no choice.

"Thank you Mr. Vice President,but I am finished now." Aria said as she sat down in her seat.

"Very well. The purpose of this hearing is to decide if Executor Taylor and Director Lawson should be removed from their posts and should the department of galactic justice press charges of treason against them." Tactus said. Tactus would have made a good judge there was no way for anyone to tell how he personally felt about the issue at hand,his face was unreadable. "Counselor T'Loak I believe you wished to make the opening remarks and tell your version of the events that happened yesterday." he said evenly.

"Yes,thank you." Aria said standing up again and then she started to pace back and forth with a limp as if walking caused her great pain. "I would like to state for the record that I am as shocked and saddened by these events as anyone else. That two such people who our beloved President entrusted with the lives of himself and his family should betray the counsel in this way makes me feel ill. This should never have happened." Aria then went on to tell her version of the story which was very much like the real version but had her being more abused and attacked not because of a crime she committed but because she had learned something about Jacob and Miranda. Aria then showed security footage and called witnesses from her staff and people who had been in the waiting area that seemed to confirm her version of events. All Jacob and Miranda could do was stand there and listen to her lies and wait for their chance to defend themselves. At last after more then an hour Aria rested her case and sat down.

At this point the counselor for the Quarians spoke up. "So you don't believe President Shepard had anything to do with this attack?"

"No,he was betrayed by two people he should have been able to trust." Aria replied simply.

"What did you learn that caused them to attack you?" The Quarian counselor asked.

"I learned that Curberus is not dead and that these two are still working for that group,trying to undermine everything we have built since the war. This cause everyone to start talking at once. There was near panic in the chamber after this accusation. Finally after about five minutes Tactus was able to restore order to the room.

"I take it you can prove this." Tactus said still not betraying anything.

"Yes I can. When my security team first noticed that my office was bugged I had them look into the matter. They planted a bug in director Lawson's office and this is what it recorded." A holo image then appeared in the middle of the room,it should Jacob and Miranda talking in his office. They seemed to be talking about how they were not going to be able to fool Shepard much longer and how if Cerberus was to take control of the counsel both he and Aria would need to be gotten rid of. The recording then went on the show them planing the bombing of Shepard's Citadel home in great detail. Jacob almost cried out but Miranda held her hand and stopped him,she wasn't going to risk them getting thrown out of the hearing now.

Another wave of panic swept over the room and this time it took almost ten minutes for order to be restored. Finally after order had been restored Aria spoke. "As I said this is a sad day for the counsel but for the good of this counsel and the galaxy these two must be tried for treason. Not only did they attack a member of this counsel but they also tried to kill our President and his children. We must send a message that we will not stand for children being targeted in acts of terror." This speech receive a weak applause as Aria sat down. People seemed to be more confused and scared then anything else. Miranda was good at reading people and she saw that she had one chance she took a step closer to the counsel and looked Tactus in the eyes,she did not show any fear as she spoke.

"Before you vote may I speak?" Miranda asked. She decided to do everything properly showing no emotion,this was make or break. She saw a chance and she was going to take it. Tactus motioned for her to speak.

"I would just like to say that I am sure if that recording is looked into with any detail you will find it is fake. Yes Executor Taylor and I worked for Cerberus back in a time when they were the only ones protecting the Human race from certain threats,President Shepard did as well." This cause a brief murmur to go through the counselors. They all knew this was true but no one liked being reminded that the great John Shepard who had saved the galaxy had once worked for terrorists.

Miranda calmly continued. "The fact is Shepard is not in Asari space because of a request from her." Miranda paused to point at Aria with out saying her name. "But because she attacked his home and kidnapped his children. We arrested her to stop her from being able to warn the kidnappers in Asari space!"

"That is a lie!" Aria screamed and she jumped up and tried to attack Miranda but two guards grabbed her. This caused another huge outburst. "I WILL HAVE ORDER HERE!" Tactus yelled. Everyone began to calm down. Miranda refused to flinch or notice the attempt at an attack in any way. Aria was the first to speak. "I am sorry but I will not listen to these lies! They can't prove a word they say. These two are just trying to slow us down so Cerberus can take over! You can't listen to these lies!"

Tactus turned from looking at Aria to Miranda. "Director Lawson these are very grave charges,can you prove them?" He asked.

"Not at this time." Miranda answered. A smile crossed over Aria's face but Miranda wasn't done. She waited a few seconds for effect and then continued. "But here is the real question,Who do you trust?" This got a round of confused looks from people,except Jacob. Jacob could see what she was doing and hoped Miranda had read the feelings of the crowd right.

Miranda then continued. "Shepard gave us these posts because he trusts us with the lives of himself and his family as Counselor T'Loak said. He trusts us because we went through a war with him and he would not have given us these jobs if you could not trust us. So the real question is who's judgment do you trust more. Do you trust a petty crim boos who only has her power because so many of her people died in the war,or do you trust Shepard who lead you through that war? Who has earned your trust?" Miranda then calmly stepped back and waited for the vote to be taken.

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An hour latter in Aria's apartment she was pacing back and forth fuming. "That was a disaster! I can't believe two thirds of the Counsel voted with that Cerberus Bitch when she had no proof!" Aria yelled. "Well nothing can be done about that now." Aria said calming down. She turned to her assistant and spoke. "Hopefully Shepard being put of contact means he is dead."

"Yes but what about the counsel,they are bound to look into the charges that Lawson made against you."

"Don't worry they will be far too busy to worry about what I may or may not have done. Find me a member of the press,not an Asari but someone who is alien and respected and tell them that they can have an off the record interview with me where I will tell them something that will shake the galaxy."

"What are you going to do?" The young Asari asked.

"I am going to start a Krogan civil war and a war between the Krogans and the Salarians. That should keep the counsel out of my business for a while."

**Well there you have it Chapter 31. I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for your support.**


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

The Normandy's med bay was on the crew deck which was the center that meant that with ever single power source knocked out by the EMP weapon there was no light what so ever. A person's hand could not been seen if it was mere inches from their face. It was the sort of pitch dark you would only expect to find at the very center of the earth. Everyone was fumbling around in the dark trying to pull out the emergency crash seats that were a part of every room's wall and strap themselves in using the seat belts. There was nothing anyone could do to prevent the crash that was coming so instead they had to focus on surviving it.

' first task had been to grope her way over to Shepard's biobed and feeling her way in the dark to strap him down tightly so his body couldn't move and he would not be hurt any worse then he already was by the crash. At least she hoped that would be the case. In the dark she couldn't check her work very well. Still she knew her way around her own med bay that despite the fact that she could not see and that it took her a very long time to complete the task she was sure she had completed it correctly.

Next felt her way across the room and frantically helped Tali get the kids strapped it. It was hard to do in the pitch dark and they knew they were on a ticking clock. It was a strange sensation. It was dark so no one could see anything and they could feel their feet touching the deck below them but they could also feel themselves falling. It was like they had stepped into some strange other world where the normal laws of gravity and motion as we understand them did not apply.

"Is everyone strapped in!" Shepard called out into the darkness a moment latter. He was answered by a round of "yeses". "Good!" Shepard yelled. "Because I think we are going to hit the ground soon,brace yourselves!"

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A few minutes earlier Kasumi and Garrus' activities were interrupted by all the lights going out.

"What was that?!" Kasumi asked after taking a second to come to her senses.

"I don't know but my Omni-Tool is not working so it's a good bet that it knocked out power across the ship." Garrus said gravely.

"Well I had better find my clothes." Kasumi said as she got off of Garrus and stood up in the dark. Garrus found himself cursing the fact that every single light was out and he could not see a thing.

"I don't think we have time for that." Garrus said quickly.

"Look I promise once we get the power back on I'll take my clothes off again with the lights on,but I don't want anyone to walk in here while I am naked." Kasumi said lightly.

"It's not that." Garrus began to explain. Kasumi couldn't see him but she could tell from his tone that he was not joking or teasing. "Can't you feel that motion?" Garrus asked.

"Now that you mention it I am feeling something,it's almost like we are falling." Kasumi said a moment latter.

"That's because we are." Garrus explained. "We must not have broken free of Thessia's gravity before we lost power. Quick on the other side of the room,if you push the computer console up there is an emergency crash station that comes out of the wall. Strap yourself in now!" Garrus said urgently.

"What about you?" Kasumi asked with a hint of fear showing in her voice.

"There is another one other here,I'll be fine. Now,quick get over there and strap yourself in!" Garrus answered.

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Suddenly the mighty ship shook,it felt like to pieces and the whole ship was filed with the most deafening noise that could be imagined. In the med bay the kids were screaming but they could hardly be heard over the sound of the ship crashing. Anything that was not bolted down was sent flying across the ship. The objects still could not be seen because of the dark but they could be heard impacting on the floors and walls. This continued for what felt like decades until at last the ship seemed to stop moving and a strange quiet took the place of the constant noise.

"Is everyone alright?" Shepard called out into the darkness yet again. He had always taken his sense of sight for granted but he swore if he made it out of this he never would again. The first reply Shepard seemed to get was the unmistakable sounds and smells of someone in the room being sick.

"What's going on,who is getting sick?" Tali yelled out from somewhere in the darkness.

"It's me." Rael called out weakly and then the sounds of him getting sick continued.

"Rael are you okay?" Shepard asked.

"I wasn't hurt in the crash." Was all the boy said and then yet again he was getting sick.

"Mom,tell Rael to stop getting sick near me. It's gross!" Jeff called out. From this Shepard could guess that he was okay as well. Now he just had to find out how the two Shepard girls and Chakwas had fared in the crash. "How is everyone else?" Shepard asked.

"My shoulders her because the seat belt dug into them when we crashed but I think I am okay." Raan called out from her seat.

"I would like to confirm that for myself." Chakwas said and Shepard could hear her getting up and making her way over all the broken and out of place things on the floor in the direction of Raan's voice. "To answer your next question Shepard I am fine." Chakwas yelled out.

"I'm fine too." Tali called out. "Rael I am going to try and make my way over to you. I just hope I don't step in anything you have thrown up." She said in a much calmer and quieter tone of voice.

"This is becoming the galaxy's most complex game of Marco Polo." Shepard said to himself with a sigh.

A moment latter just when things seemed to be calming down their was a banging sound on the door and the voice of Ashley Williams could be heard coming from the other side. "Can anyone hear me,is everyone all right in there?" She asked. She was yelling but her voice could barely be heard in the med bay.

"Everyone is fine." Shepard yelled back.

"Okay then I don't think we will try to force the door open yet since as long as it is sealed you are safer in there and it will be easier for us to defend you." Ashley responded.

"I agree that is the safest move right now. You should use the duct works and send some one a level down and find out when we can get power back too." He had to keep giving orders,it was the only way he could keep his fear under control. His family was sitting ducks for a group of people who were born with biotic powers,and he could not even move to defend them. This was Shepard's worst nightmare come true but as long as there were problems he could solve and orders he could give he was able to keep his fear at bay.

"What is all that about?" asked.

Shepard decided he had better explain to everyone what was going on. He knew he could count on not to panic,she came as close to being born in the military as you could get. Tali would not panic because she had been in these situations many time before while fighting the Reapers. Keeping the kids from panicking was a whole another story.

"Look this is going to sound scary but I telling you the odds and time are on our side. I know Ashley and the rest of them will not let anything happened to us." Shepard began to explain,trying to calm the kids. "There is only one reason we would not have been shot down the moment that EMP weapon hit this ship."

"You mean they want to kill us?!" Raan cried out and Shepard could hear the tears in her voice.

"No they don't want to kill us,that is why they didn't shoot us down." Tali said firmly trying to make the girl feel better. Shepard had to try and remember that he was talking to kids and not combat veterans. His normal ways of speaking and motivating people would not would in this situation.

"Yes that is right." Shepard continued. "That is why we will be fine because they want to take us alive. Look all the doors on this ship seal by default so that if power goes out and there is a haul breach the loss of pressure will not spread beyond the room it started in. Do you understand that?" Shepard asked.

"I think I do." Rael said speaking up for the first time in a while and for one he didn't sound like he was being sick between words. "That means that when whoever shot us down comes on the ship they will have to spend time forcing each and every door open themselves." Rael answered sounding proud.

"That is right!" Shepard said excitedly. He couldn't help it he was proud that one of his kids had picked up some basic military thinking. "Space traffic control for Thessia will have seen us go down so it is only a matter of time before troops and ships show up to help us so Ashley and the rest of the crew just have to hold off whoever this is until those ships get here. We will be fine." Shepard concluded.

"John who do you think is after us,do you think it's Aria?" Tali asked.

"It could be but it could just as easily be the rebel faction afraid that we are here to help the government ." Shepard answered thoughtfully.

"So just sit back and remain calm,we have been in worse scrapes and we will get out of this one just fine." Tali said to the children.

At that same moment outside the med bay Ashley Williams was taking charge of the situation as best as she could in complete darkness. "Okay everyone on this deck pass the word along. Grab your side arms and meet up here. Our one and only job now is to protect the first family!" She yelled. She could then hear a lot of movement across the deck. Ashley then turned to Grunt. "Hey do you think you can find your way over the the main battery and force that door open?" She asked.

"Of course I can." Grunt answered.

"Good because we may need Garrus' help before this is over." Ashley said somewhat grimly.

"I am on my way." Grunt said and then Ashley heard the large Krogan walking off.

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In the main battery Kasumi and Garrus were just recovering from the crash.

"I hope you feel better then I do after that!" Kasumi called out.

"It will take more then a couple of broken legs and a crash to slow me down." Garrus answered.

"Good then you can help me find my clothes. They could have ended up anywhere and I can't see a thing." Kasumi said.

"I don't know I kind of like you the way you are." Garrus responded playfully.

"Yeah well someone is bound to come down here to check on us and I would rather have my clothes on when that happens." Kasumi responded sternly.

"Unless we are the only two people left alive in which case no one is going to be coming and there is no point in you getting dressed ." Garrus continued to push Kasumi's buttons.

"If you ever want to see me nude again you will help me find my clothes!" Kasumi threatened.

"Okay you got me,I give up." Garrus said as he unbuckled himself.

"I think I found your underwear." Kasumi said a few seconds latter.

"You sure they are mine?" Garrus asked.

"Well they are way too big for me." Kasumi answered.

"Well good because it was getting cold in here." Garrus said lightly.

"Oh and I don't wear a hood so I think I found your shirt or whatever you call this thing." Garrus called out a few moments latter.

They continued like this fore some time until in the dark they had managed to find and put on most of their clothes,that was one they heard a loud banging sound at the door.

"Find some cover,it could be whoever attacked the ship." Garrus called out urgently.

"I never would have thought of that myself." Kasum I said sarcastically. "I mean I have only taken care of myself for most of my life. I do know a thing or two about surviving."

"Have you taken cover or not,I think they are almost have the door open." Garrus replied sternly.

A moment latter they were interrupted by the loud sound of the door being forced open and Grunt's voice. "Would you two stop screwing around,we are going to need you out here!" He said.

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Up in the CIC things went both better and worse. Better because the large viewing window let in some light so unlike on the lower decks the crew could just barely see. Worse because the crash didn't do much good for Joker and his brittle bones.

"How is everyone doing?" Joker called out.

"Everyone seems fine captain." X.O Adams answered.

"EDI are you okay? EDI answer me!" Joker called out desperately.

"Sir it is most likely that whatever knocked out the ship's power took out EDI too. I'm sorry." Adams explained as he walked towards the captain who was still strapped into the pilot's station. He could hear the sound of rain hitting the view window as he got closer,that explained why more light was not entering the ship. "Sir are you okay?" He asked.

"Forget about me,will you be able to get EDI back online?" Joker demanded and at this point he was almost letting himself cry. At the moment he didn't care about anything besides getting EDI back.

"Sir I have no way of knowing that at the moment." Adams explained carefully. He didn't want to upset Joker any more then he had too but he needed his captain to pull himself together. "Sir you can't think about that right now. You are the captain and the ship is in crisis. We can't contact the lower decks and we have just been attacked. The crew is waiting for your orders." Adams explained calmly.

"You are right of course Adams." Joker said sadly resigning himself to the situation. "Well they didn't take us out so that means they are going to board us,or may already be on board. Everyone on this deck needs to get their side arms and be ready. The enemy will be Asari and that means they will also be biotics. We need to be ready for anything. Have the crew take defensive positions and send people through the duct work to make contact with the other decks." Joker ordered. He didn't like it but he knew his job was to protect the rest of the crew even if his heart was breaking at that moment.

"Yes,sir!" Adams answered and then walked back to the rest of the crew and began giving orders.

Joker began unbuckling himself. He felt like every bone in his body was broken and for all he knew at that moment they could have been. He looked up at the viewing window which was the only source of light and the moment and tried to think about what his life would be like with out EDI and then pushed that thought out of his mind. "_No! IDE would be okay,she had to be!"_

Joker then saw what he thought was movement. Before he could react there was the mighty sound of an explosion and the next instant Joker's face was hit with a mixture of broken glass and rain water. The next few seconds were a confusing mix of sounds and pains. Joker was reacting with out having time to process what was going on. Everything happened to slow and too fast at the same time. Joker didn't think he had ever been in more danger,not even during the war.

He was aware of a group of Asari jumping down almost on top on him. He tried to get up and get out of their way but he fell to the deck as his legs protested. Every bone in his body felt like it was the wares of a china shop that had just had a run in with a bull. He couldn't really move and then he became aware of the sound of gun fire and bullets firing over his head. The crew had opened fire and the Asari were returning it. Joker knew he didn't have much time he had to get out of the way some how. He tried crawling away but his limbs would not move correctly and the pain was too intense. He fell face first and then the pain of hitting the deck caused his whole world to go black.

Adams was taking cover behind a chair at the other end of the deck when he saw what had happened to Joker. "We need to get to the captain!" he yelled as he jumped out from behind his cover and fired several shots into the lead Asari. The shots impacted harmlessly on her shields and then she used a throw field to send Adams flying across the deck and into the far wall.

It took Adams a few seconds to come to his senses but when he did what he saw surprised him. The Asari didn't seem to be bothering with the crew any more then they needed to. They were returning fire and pushing the crew out of their way but they seemed more interested in making their way to the elevator door then they did in finishing off wounded crew members. Once they made it to the door three Asari used their biotics to force it opened and then jumped into the shaft. The crew continued to fire at the Asari but they were too late. The Asari were long gone,using biotics to float down the shaft.

Adams then rushed over to a duct that was open near the far wall. "I need to go make sure the first family is safe." He explained. "The rest of you take care of the captain and keep trying to get in touch with the other decks." He ordered before jumping into the duct works of the ship.

It had been a few years since Adams had been in the ducts but he still knew them like the back of his hand. He had spent too many years on the Normandy not to. He had always said he could find his way around his ship blind folded and now he was getting the chance to prove it. As he worked his way through the ducting he could hear the sounds of battle outside. He wondered how it was going. He guessed from the screams and panic he could hear that the Normandy's crew was losing. That wasn't much of a surprise,everything was stacked against them. Still Adams couldn't help but wonder why the Asari hadn't bothered to take out the crew in the CIC. He guessed that maybe they were in a hurry to get to the first family,but he still could not shake the feeling that there was more going on and that he was missing something. He didn't like that feeling.

At last Adams reached deck three. He could tell just by listening that there was a pitched battle going on at that moment. He could not tell who was winning so he decided to be as quiet as he could getting out of the ducting. As he got out his eyes had to adjust to the lighting. The only like he could see came from across the deck. It's source was the muzzle flashes from guns firing and the shields of the Asari lighting up when a bullet impacted them. He could also hear the unmistakable sound of a Krogan charging. Grunt must have just gone hand to hand with at least on of the Asari. Adams couldn't see very well but he knew the ship well enough to know that the battle had to be taking place outside the med bay. That had to be where the first family was. Adams decided he had better join the battle.

He picked one of the glowing orbs of blue light that seemed to be the shields of an Asari about ten yards away and ran forward firing his pistol. The Asari turned and fired her riffle at him but Adams dropped to the floor. The shots passed just over his head. He then reloaded his pistol and fired another shot at the blue orb that was now just three yards ahead of him just as some bullets seemed to impact it from the right. At least one other person must have been firing at the Asari too. He could still see the glow of the shields so he kept firing. All at once the glow vanished and Adams could not see his target any more,still he kept firing at the last place he saw the Asari and some of his bullets must have found their mark because he heard a grown and then heard the sound of something hitting the deck just in front of him. A few seconds latter all the other glows went out and everything went quiet. Adams took a second to make sure he wasn't going to get shot by stray fire and then stood up.

"That seems to be all of them,who is in charge on this deck?" He called out.

"I am." He heard the voice of Ashley Williams call out a foot or two in front of him and to his left.

"Is the first family safe?" Adams asked.

"Yeah those Asari didn't get close to getting the med bay door open." Ashley answered.

"Well good work all of you,any idea how many Asari were down here?" Adams continued not wasting any time.

"I counted six." Garrus said from somewhere off to Adams right.

"I don't like this." Adams said thoughtfully rubbing his chin with his right hand. "At least two dozen Asari entered the ship via the CIC. Why didn't they finish us off up there and why didn't they send the bulk of their forces down here to take Shepard?" He asked himself more then anyone else.

"I don't like this it stinks of a trap." Grunt said.

"I agree." Adams continued in his thoughts. "There is a large window in the lounge if you can get the doors open you can break that and get the Shepards out that way if you have to." He said after a few seconds thought.

"I don't think that is a good idea." Ashley chimed in. "We have no way of knowing what is out there."

"I know." Adams continued. "But the ship may become unsafe so I think we should have a plan to get them out if that happens."

"Fine but until we know for sure the ship is not safe I am keeping them where they are. I am not going to risk their safety." Ashley responded forcefully.

A moment latter they all heard what sounded like explosions and gun fire coming from somewhere below their feet.

"That has to be coming from the engine room on deck four." Adams observed. "I am going to go and try and find out what is going on down there." He then addressed the rest of the crew on the deck. "The rest of you keep defending the first family. Obey any orders Specter Williams gives you." a few seconds latter he was back in the ducting hoping he was not too late to prevent a disaster from happening.

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Down in the engine room on deck four things were not going well. There were not many members of the crew on the deck and they faced the same darkness that was the enemy of the crew on deck three. Ken and Gabby were leading a last ditch defense of the engine room but it was a lost cause. The Asari were making their way across the room almost at will and so far the crew had only taken down one of them.

When Adams came out of the ducting the first words he heard were those of Ken. "Gabby are you alright?!" He heard the panicked Scottsman's voice called out over the din of the battle.

"I' a little banged up but okay,I think we are the only two left." Gabby's voice answered. She was not a combat veteran and it showed. No combat veteran would make the mistake of admitting something like that for the enemy to hear. Adams made his way over to the voices quickly.

From the glow of shields Adams could tell the Asari were closing in around them. Then he heard something else. It was faint and coming from outside the ship but it sounded like ships landing. The next thing he was aware of he,Ken,and Gabby were thrown across the room by a field and impacted together against a wall. Adams braced himself sure that this would be the end but one of the Asari called out. "We need to finish the job and go now!" That was followed a second latter by the sound of something breaking and the Asari picking something up. The Asari then got out of the room as fast as they could and a second latter they could be heard entering the elevator shaft.

Adams sat stunned on the floor for a few seconds trying to make sense of the events. "I think they got the alien device." Gabby called out. _"So that was their real target."_ Adams thought to himself. _"Still why didn't they finish us off."_ Adams didn't have to wait long for his answer. He spotted a large number of small glowing objects all over the deck. While Adams could not read Asari numbers he could recognize a count down when he saw one.

"Are those what I think they are?" Ken asked with fear showing in his voice.

"I am afraid that they are." Adams answered grimly. "Those are bombs of some kind and there is no way we can find them all and disarm them with out power before they go off."

"Then what do we do?" Gabby asked dreding the answer she knew as coming.

"We get as many people off this ship as we can before it goes." Adams answered.

"We can't just leave the Normandy!" Ken protested.

"The Normandy is already lost!" Adams responded harshly. "You and Gabby get to deck three and make sure the Shepards get off. I'll go to the CIC and get the captain and what is left of the crew on that deck off,understood?!"

"Yes sir." Ken and Gabby answered sadly and in another minute all three of them were making their way through the Normandy SR2's ducting for the last time.

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To her credit Williams kept both herself and the crew calm when they were given the news. They worked quickly to get the needed doors opened. Shepard insisted that Grunt carry the three kids since that would be the quickest way to get them out. Shepard felt a pang of regret as he was being carried out by Chakwas and the crew. This would be the second Normandy he would lose. He just hoped he didn't lose his family along with it.

Garrus couldn't see in the dark but he still took one last longing look back in the direction of the guns he had spent so many hours calibrating.

When they got to the lounge it took almost every bullet the remains of the Normandy crew had and Grunt running into the window full tilt to break it open but it did break. A few minutes latter they were all outside and to their relief they saw no signs of the Asari who had attacked them,instead there were just four Asari military patrol ships with crews who were only too glad to help. Few words were exchanged as the Normandy survivors got onto the ships and the ships took off to put some distance between themselves and the Normandy before it blew.

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In the CIC a much sadder scene was taking place. Joker was fighting with Adams and the members of the crew who were trying to help him out of the ship. Anger and tears were mixing in his voice. "NO! I WILL NOT LEAVE THE NORMANDY,I WILL NOT LEAVE EDI!"

"There is nothing we can do sir!" Adams yelled forcefully.

Joker was now reduced to tears. "At least find her body,if you do that maybe she can be saved."

"I am sorry sir but there is not time and if the Normandy does not survive none of her programing will either." Adams tried to reason with his captain. He could not imagine the heartbreak he was going through,losing both the ship and the "woman" he loved at the same time.

"I don't care find her!" Joker screamed at the top of his lungs.

"I am so sorry sir." was all Adams could say in a broken voice and then he and the last of the crew dragged Joker out into the rain kicking and screaming all the way. They got on board the last Asari ship and it took off into the gloomy sky. From the small window beside him in the cargo bay Joker looked out and he completely lost it as a moment latter the two great loves of his life were engulfed in a fireball of death. Joker's face then went completely blank. Now that it had happened he found that he couldn't feel anything. His spirit had been broken and he wasn't even aware of the world around him. He just stared off into the distance. The worst had happened and he found that he had no more interest in life now. If he could pull himself together enough to think he would be thinking about how he didn't have any reason to go on living,but he was too broken and depressed to even work himself up into those kind of thoughts. Joker was now in his own personal hell.

**Well that is chapter 32. Sorry it took two weeks but I am still dealing with the new dog. On the bright side I have him almost broken in so chapter 33 should be up soon. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and again thanks for your support despite the delays.**


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Miranda Lawson sent Jacob Taylor home to spend some time with his kids after the ordeal they had all been through. Miranda had then settled down and started running the search for the Normandy and Shepard. She had not liked the fact that she learned they were both out of contact from Aria at her and Jacob's hearing. It didn't take her long to find out that the ship had been attacked and that there was an explosion at the crash site. The Asari had told her that Shepard was okay but she wanted to hear it for herself from Shepard. Unfortunately something had kept taking down Thesia's planetary communications network. Mirdara stayed in her office and waited for a clear signal. Miranda didn't like the situation at all and on top of that while she had managed to save herself and Jacob see didn't have anything she could use to have Aria removed from office. Everything she had was the result of illegal bugging of Aria's office or communications so she couldn't present it to the counsel. That meant that Miranda still had to worry about what the Asari's next move would be.

It was while Miranda was trying to decided what her next move would be that Branson entered her office.

"Ma'am we just discovered something that may be related to this case." Branson said as he walked towards Miranda's desk.

"What is it." Miranda asked as she looked up from the reports she had been reading that told her what they knew about the attack on the Normandy and what Aria T'Laok had been up to in recent months.

"Well it seems Adril the Elcor that Spectre Vakarian brought with him to the Citadel tried sending a message to the Normandy marked urgent just minutes before it was attacked." Branson explained.

"It could be nothing but let's not take any chances. Send a couple of Spectres to pick him up and let's find out what he was trying to tell Garrus." Miranda ordered.

"Yes Ma'am." Branson replied and then he turned and left the office.

Maybe it was nothing but then again it could be something to go on and get this whole case moving forward again and if it was Miranda was grateful for that.

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On Thessia things were not going nearly as well. Adams had to report to his captain and inform him as to where the rescue ship they were on at that moment was headed and he was not looking forward to it. He had no idea how Joker would react to him or if he would react to all. Still Adams had been in the navy along time and ass chewing outs were part of the job. Still in all his years of service he had never had to report to a C.O that may have blamed him for getting his girlfriend killed so it was a new situation for Adams.

Adams found Joker where he had left him,laying on a cot in the cargo bay looking out the window. He couldn't see the Normandy crash site any more but he didn't seem to have moved since seeing it. He wasn't crying,he was just sitting perfectly in place without moving or making a sound.

Adams walked up to his captain and began to calmly deliver his report. "Sir I did a head count on all five ships and it seems we lost 11 crewmen not counting two Spectres that were trapped in the cargo bay when the ship was attacked." Joker didn't respond to this in any way so Adams continued. "The ships are taking us to a secure bunker where the first family will be kept under guard. I have talked to President Shepard and as soon as we can get a message off world he is going to send for the Destiny Assentsion to pick him and his family up. Something seems to have taken down the planetary communications network so that may be a while."

Adams just stood there for a few minutes waiting for a response. When he didn't get one he decided it was his duty to speak up. "Sir someone still needs to be in charge of the crew and the recovery of wreckage from the crash site. If you are unable to preform your duties as Captain then I need to know so I can take command." Adams said calmly.

It took Joker a minute but at last he responded with out looking up,his voice was dead and showed no emotion when he spoke. "How could you do it?" He asked accusingly.

"Do what,I don't understand." Adams asked confused What Joker accusing him of having something to do with the attack?

"Leave the Normandy like you did with out even trying to save her. You have been on board about as long as I have and I never took you for the cut and run type." Joker explained while still not looking away from the window.

"Sir you are right the old Adams would have stayed down in the engine room and tried to save the ship." Adams replied after taking a moment to think.

"Then why didn't you?" Joker demanded.

"Because when I became second in command and then you got taken out that made me responsible for the lives of everyone on the ship,not just the ship. I had to get as many of the crew off alive as I could. I am sorry captain but in my judgement it was either try to save the crew or try to save the ship and since I was X.O there was no choice." Adams replied calmly.

Joker thought about this for a few minutes before finally looking at Adams and speaking. "You did the right thing. Sorry if I have given you a hard time about it,the wound is just fresh right now."

"No problem sir." Adams responded.

"To answer your question I will stay in command." Joker said next.

"Alright sir,I will inform you when we are about to land then." Adams said and then he turned and left the room. Adams nearly bumped into Garrus who was hobbling into the room on his crutches as he left.

Garrus made his way over to Joker and began to speak. "I managed to give Chakwas the slip and figured I would come down here and see how you were holding up. He said with a sad smile.

When Joker answered his voice was sober with out a hint of humor in it. "Don't ever let yourself fall in love Garrus,it brings you nothing but pain in the end."

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Miranda Lawson and Branson listened to Adril's story about why he had tried to contact Garrus while looking at their own copies of the file Kasumi and Garrus had recovered. It was Miranda who spoke first once Adril finished his story.

"I am afraid we still have no idea where the Alliance fifth fleet is so a rescue is out of the question."

"Dejected understanding,I understand but I will continue to try and locate on my own." Adril said and with that he turned around and walked out of the office.

It was Branson who spoke next. "Ma,am I think the only thing that is in this data that Cerberus couldn't already have are the lists of names and locations. If they are trying to get those that most likely means that they are part of a faction of Batarians who are on the Counsel's side."

"I agree." Miranda said thoughtfully. "We know that there is a small faction of Batarians who wanted their government to accept Shepard's invitation to become part of the Counsel after the war,these could be leaders of that faction."

"In that case they could be key to ending this with out a major military conflict." Branson said hopefully.

"We can not be sure of that." Miranda replied. "All we know for sure is that Cerberus may want these people dead and that is enough reason for us to protect them for now. We can work out what side they are on when we speak to them."

"Agreed." Branson said with a nod of his head.

"So send some Spectres into Batarian space. Their orders are to find these people and bring them back to the Citadel safely so that we can find out from them exactly what is going on." Miranda ordered.

"Yes Ma'am." Branson replied and then added gravely. "If they encounter Cerberus or the fifth fleet what are their orders."

"Order them to do everything they can to protect the Batarians they are escorting but if getting them out of Batarian space is not an option they are to do everything in their power to damage Cerberus and the fifth fleet. Got it?" Miranda said forcefully.

"Understood Ma'am." Brason said and then he turned and left the office. Miranda sighed,she had a feeling she was in for another long few days at the very least.

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The high security bunker Shepard,his family,and the Normandy survivors were taken to after the attack was deep under ground and had been built for the Asari government just before the war. While the bunker had been breached when the Reapers took Thessia in the years since it had been rebuilt and at that time it was the most secure place on all of Thessia. It also boasted a state of the art med lab,that is where Shepard was taken directly after the rescue ships landed.

Ashley Williams and Grunt stood guard over Shepard's bed keeping a close eye on everyone as Chakwas and a team of Asari doctors checked Shepard out. While this was going on Rael was being taken care of by another Asari doctor on the other side of the med lab. Tali was there with him and the other children trying to assure them that they were safe,but the very frightened children didn't seem to buy it. If they were not safe on the Normandy surrounded by friends how safe were they here surrounded by the same type of people who had attacked and kidnapped them in the first place?

While Shepard was being checked out he was receiving a report from a high ranking member of the Asari special forces. She was giving Shepard the official story of how and why the Normandy was attacked. Shepard didn't respond to this with words,instead he just nodded when she finished and then she left.

It was a few minutes latter that Chakwas and the Asari doctors finished their work on Shepard. Shepard waited for Chakwas to tell him what was up. From the grave look on her face and the way the Asari doctors stepped back and left her alone with him he got a sinking feeling in his gut that what she had to say was not good news.

"Give it to me straight doc,how bad is it?" Shepard asked screwing up his courage and breaking the ice at last.

"I am afraid it is the worst news." Chakwas said slowly,she was careful to keep her tone calm and professional. "Your spine got moved about quite a bit when we rushed off the Normandy and a lot of the delicate repairs we made to it were undone and can't be redone because of new damage." Chakwas then stopped for a few seconds to take a breath before continuing.

Shepard spoke up before Chakwas could continue. "What does that mean long term?" He asked. It was all he could think of to say and there was a forced controlled calmness to his voices.

Chakwas cleared her throat before continuing. "It means that there is now next to no chance you will ever walk again and I think you should be ready to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair." There was a sadness to Chakwas voice that Shepard had never heard before. This was clearly one of the hardest things she had ever had to do. All she could do after that was mouth a quiet "I'm sorry."

A storm of emotions raged inside Shepard. He wanted to shoot something,he wanted to cry,he wanted to scream. He struggled with all of these feelings for a few minutes before the training Anderson had given him took over and he brought them under control. He knew having a break down would not help him or anyone else and it would only make the situation harder on Tali and the kids. He had to stay strong for them no matter how hard it was.

A few minutes latter Shepard spoke in a controlled unemotional tone of voice. "Well then I guess you had better track down a wheelchair for me."

"Yes sir." Chakwas replied with a nod. She then left his side to try and make a call on a communications unit that was on the far wall. The planetary communications system was still going up and down so she had no idea how long she would have to wait to get a call through.

Ashley and Grunt stood beside Shepard with a mixture of sadness and horror on their faces. They didn't have a chance to say anything before Tali made her way over. By that point the kids had fallen a sleep so she was free to talk to her husband. Grunt and Ashley took a few steps back to give Tali and Shepard some room to talk semi privately.

The first thing Shepard noticed was that tali was crying hard. He reached up and brought her masked face down closer to his own. "Please don't cry." Was all he could choke out at first. "It will be alright. I will still be able to get around."

"But not like before." Tali said between tears. "I know you this isn't what you want,to be confined to a chair for the rest of your life. This isn't fair!" Tali slammed her fist down on the bed beside Shepard on that last part.

"You are right it isn't." Shepard said as he took Tali's hand in his. "Still after I lost my family all those years ago I didn't think I would ever have another. If getting my family back cost me the use of my legs then that is a price I have to pay."

"I can't stand to think of you in some chair,not being able to run or play base's ball any more." This brought a small smile to Shepard's face,Tali had never been able to get the name of the sport right despite understanding the rules better then any other Quarian.

"Look we will get through this,it's not the end of the world. It's not like I am dead." Shepard said soothingly.

Tali then sat down in a chair beside Shepard's bed and brought her tears under control. "That is true but how do we explain it to the kids?" She asked between sniffs.

"I am not sure but they will get used to it,we are still a family and that is what matters." Shepard answered calmly.

"Yeah I guess you are right,it could be a lot worse." Tali said at last.

"That's right it could be,but I can't think about that right now I need to decide what my next move will be." Shepard said changing the subject.

"So what is our next move?" Tali asked. She wanted to just hold him but she knew this was a crisis and part of her was glad Shepard had it to distract him.

"Well once the DA gets here we are getting on board it,you and the kids will be much safer there. It will also be a good place for me to launch my investigation from and put an end to all this nonsense with the Asari once and for all." This was determined Shepard talking who would not let anything,not even the loss of use of his legs get between him and the truth. Tali was happy to see it,this meant that despite how much he may have been hurting his spirit had not been broken.

"So you don't believe the official story then?" Tali asked.

"That is it was a rebel group who attacked us and they stole that EMP weapon,no." Shepard replied and then he explained. "They are trying to blame the Ardat-Yakshi without admitting they exist but we both know it was really Aria who attacked the Normandy." Tali nodded. She wanted to express her anger at the Asari woman once again but she knew better then to interrupt Shepard's train of thought when he was on a roll. "That EMP weapon was top secret and developed to fight Reapers,there is no way some rebel group just happened to steal it. Then there is the planetary communications network going down. That all points to it being Aria's agents in the Asari government being behind this."

"How do we prove that and end this civil war?" Tali asked.

"I don't know but they have come after my family twice so it ends now and nothing is going to stand in my way." Shepard replied.

"Good for you." Tali said and then added with a hint of fear in her voice. "Just don't get yourself killed chasing this Asari bitches,okay?"

"Don't worry I will not." Shepard said with a small smile. "I have too much to live for."

"Good. Still this does mean that we can't trust anyone on this planet,and we are in danger." Tali added gravely.

"Yes I am afraid we are." Shepard admitted. "That is why I can't wait to get you and the kids off of the planet. I need you to promise me something Tali."

"What is it?" Tali asked guardedly.

"I need you to promise me that if any any time I ask you to take the kids and go you will do it." Tali was about to protest but Shepard didn't give her a chance. "I need to know that you and the kids are going to be alright so that I can get my job done and I will not have to worry about you. I know you want to stand beside me and I am sorry but I am not strong enough to lose you and them."

Tali could see how much this meant to Shepard so instead of arguing she just agreed quietly. "Okay." Was all she said and then she laid her head down on Shepard's chest. "I guess this means things are pretty bad." She observed.

"Yeah they are." Shepard admitted as he hugged her. "But we both know it is darkest just before the dawn."

"I hope you are right because I can't take much more darkness." Tali said. Tali began to drift off to sleep but Shepard stayed awake holding her working out what his plans for the next few days were and thinking about the life changing event that had just happened. Once he was sure Tali was asleep he couldn't hold it in any more and he began to cry softly to himself as the major events of the past few days and the fact that he would never walk again began to sink in. It would be a long time before Shepard was feeling anything close to normal but he was determined to not let the people who had threatened his family get away with those actions and that gave him strength.

**Well that is chapter 33. Hope you enjoyed it and as always thank you for your support. If you want to follow me and get updates out side of this site I can by found on facebook as Matthew Given33 and on Twitter matthewgiven85. Well again thanks for your support. Next chapter coming soon.**


	35. Yet another note

I am so sorry about this and I really thank you all for your support but I don't know when I am going to be able to update anything I am writing. I lost my inssurance and my doctor so I can't get the meds I need to function with my asphergers and manic depression. I have really been trying to write but the fact is without my meds I can't focus enough to write anything good. I just want you to know that I am trying other treatments and I am writing what little I can so I am not going to leave you hanging. Both of my stories will be finished I just can't tell you when. I'm am really sorry I let you down this way but I will make it up to you once I find a diet or lifestyle change that will fix this. I want to thank you all again for your support it has been a huge help and I hope to have my problems delt with soon.

Again thank you all for sticking through this with me.


	36. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Naria L'Col was making her way through the dinning area of the large resturant she owned in Thessis's capital city making sure everything was ready for opening latter that day when she was hit by the explosion of biotic energy that shattered the large front window of the building and slammed her against the opposite wall. It was then that she saw what every Asari in her position feared the most,A Justicar walking slowly towards her. She tried to use her own biotics to break free but the Justicar was just too strong,Naria was trapped.

"Where are the Ardat-Yakshi who attacked the Normandy?" The Justicar demanded as she made her way across the room to her.

Naria sucked in a breath before answering and then looked the Justicar right in the lies. "I don't have any idea what you are talking about." She gasped out. Naria then felt the biotic field tighten around her and her right pinky finger break. She screamed out in pain when this happened. Samara just turned and fixed her with a cold stare.

"I would advise you not to lie to a Justicar." Samara said talking a step closer. "I know you are the biggest money launderer on Thessia and your daughter is an Ardat-Yakshi. Anything they do you know about. So will ask you once again where they are."

"Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you." Naria said defiantly and then she spat in the Justicar's face. "My daughter doesn't have to be perfect for me to love her and I would never do anything to harm her!"

Samara took a step back,the last part had caught her off guard. The shock must have shown on her face because Maria continued with her attack. "Shocked that I know that Justicar?" Naria asked accusingly. "You shouldn't be everyone knows how you murdered your own daughter!"

Samara was clearly taken aback by the last statement and shock registered on her face and her eyes started to glaze over with tears but she pushed the tears aside and returned to her work.

"I will not justify my action to you." Samara said sternly and she increased the pressure of the biotic field on Naria. "You are hiding those who are evil and have now attacked President Shepard. You will tell me everything I need to know in order to find them."

It was at that moment that the door that connected the dinning area to the kitchen flew open and about a dozen members of the kitchen and waiting staff burst into the dinning area. They were all wielding knives and glowing with biotic energy. Samara turned to face them not letting Naria out of the biotic field she was trapped in. Samara prepared for a fight but Naria spoke up.

""No!" The Asari money launder yelled out to her employese. "You will only get yourselves hurt or killed,run!" The assorted Asari looked unsure and looked about to attack when Naria yelled again. "Anyone who does not go now is fired!" The group then sactered and made their way out of the resturant via the large front doors.

Samara then returned her full attention to Naria. "That was foolish,now you will have to tell me everything I want to know." Samara said coldly.

"No Justicar,I will not kill or get others killed but I will not betray my own daughter." Naria said defiantly. There was a coldness to her reply that reminded Samara of herself. This woman had her own ideals and it seemed she would stay true to them. Normally Samara would admire this but the woman before her was in her way and putting the whole galaxy in danger and she could not let this go on,the code would not allow it. Samara gathered all her resolve and used a biotic field to break the other Asari's right arm.

"I live by the code." She explained and stepped to within a few inches of the other woman's face. "Tell me what I want to know and the pain will stop. I know the Ardat-yakshi have been gathering weapons for a war. Tell me where I can find them so I can stop it."

"Screw you!" Naria yelled and then her voice fell to a whisper. "They are only gathering weapons to defend themselves. You have heard that bitch T'lok,she wants to wipe them out."

"That is because they are a threat that can no longer be controlled." Samara replied. "The code says they have to die."

"What kind of code puts you on the same side as a power mad,petty crook like Aria T'lok?!" Naria demanded. Then before Samara could respond or ask her question again Naria let A biotic field loose. This field was not directed at the Justicar but at herself. Naria used it to break her own neck,her eyes went lifeless. This shocked Samara and she lowered her biotic field,the other Asara fell to the ground dead. Aria was left with no answers. She was still angry and desperate but she had to admire the other woman. Naria may have been on the wrong side but she had given her life for what she believed in.

Samara made her way out of the building and onto the dirty streets behind it to avoid the crowd that had gathered out front when the staff had fled. She needed time to think about what her next move should be. She then found herself doing something that she had not done since she became a Justicar,crying. The fact was she was not as cold as everyone assumed and while she had always controlled herself seeing Naria love for daughter had brought back memories of her own daughter. The one she had lost in the war,the one she had to kill herself,and the one she would have to kill in the future. Samara was always true to the code,it was all she had left but the weight of where one bad choice at lead her was hitting her and for the first time the code seemed of small comfort. Samara wished she had someone to share this burden with but she knew that as the last of the Justicar and the one who had brought three monsters into the world it was her burden to bare alone. She picked herself up and closed herself down. She had to finish this. She made her choice she would fix the problem she had created and then she would kill herself. Now that she had made this choice a strange calm came over her and she became focused in a way she had not been since the war. Soon all her problems would be over and while she was not happy she was able to function and for the last Justicar that was enough.

**Okay I am back. I am not 100% yet but I will be posting chapters a few times a week. They are going to be shorter to make them easier for me to work on. Thanks for all of your support and please leave feedback in the form of reviews or PMS. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for your time and support.**


	37. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Urdnat Wrex was playing with his oldest son Mordon when the young Krogan asked him a question. "You got those scares in battle father." He said pointing at Wrex's face. "So that means you are great warrior. How many battles did you have to fight to become Chief of Chiefs?"

"I lot" Wrex answered proudly. "In the end I won them all!" The boy looked in awe and Wrex could have left it there but he sensed it was time to teach his son an important lesson,one he hoped the boy would never forget since he would some day be leading the clan. "The Krogan are the best warriors in the galaxy. In a fight we can beat anyone and that is why we were uplifted,because the galaxy needed us to save it. A Krogan must always be ready to fight in order to defend his family,krant,and clan but being able to fight is not enough."

"Then what is?" The boy asked puzzled.

"A Krogan must also know when to make peace. That does not come easy to us but look around you." Wrex stretched out his hand and motioned for the young Krogan to look at the city that could be seen just outside of the window. "All of this was in ruins just a few years ago and it had been that way for thousands of years because we were unable to make peace with each other or others."

"Why make peace if we can win any fight?"

"Because victory always comes at a price. What takes years to build can be destroyed in seconds and if one day you can find that everything of value is gone and all that are left are the dead. War nearly destroyed our people and that can not happen again. We are a proud people and we have more to offer the galaxy then just death an destruction. We are proving that now."

"I see so a Krogan has to know when to make peace too?" The boy asked.

"Yes but he must never give up his honor or break his word for that peace. If there is no other choice then you fight." Wrex said looking down at the boy.

"I think I understand." The boy said a moment latter.

Wrex was about to respond when his Omni-tool beeped,he was receiving a call. He opened the view screen on his Omni-Tool and was rather surprised to see the face of Miranda Lawson. Wrex of course knew who she was but he must have said a total of five words to her in his life and he didn't expect to get a call from the former Cerberus officer. It looked like she was calling from inside a shuttle.

"Wrex I am calling because I can't get a hold of Shepard and something has come up that has to be taken care of now." The human female's voice was grave but also calm,she was not the type to panic. Still the fact that she was calling him directly and that Shepard could not be reached worried Wrex.

"What has happened to Shepard?"" Wrex asked concerned.

"He is alright but I am having trouble contacting him. We don't have a lot of time. I am on my way down to Earth on a shuttle and the clock is ticking on this problem. I need to be quick." Miranda explained.

"What is the problem?" Wrex asked,by that point he really wanted answers and wasn't going to put up with any more stalling.

"Word is about to leak out about the new genophage,I can delay it for about a day but then word is going to be out." Miranda answered simply.

"This is a disaster!" Wrex shouted with a mixture of anger and panic. "This means civil war and then my people will attack the rest of the galaxy. We have to do something now!"

"I have already done it." Miranda says simply. "I have ordered a Quarian ship crewed by SPECTREs to pick you up it should be there in an hour. I want you to take command of it."

"Attacking my people with SPECTREs will not help anything!" Wrex protested.

"That isn't what you are going to do." Miranda explained. "We have found the source of the genophage. It is being made on the Hannar home world. I want you to lead the attack. The SPECTREs will be under your command. You should be finished with your attack by the time news leaks. If we can announce that you lead the attack that put an end to the threat that should minimize the damage and keep you a hero in your people's minds."

Wrex thought about this for a moment before answering. "That should work. I will be ready to go when the ship gets here. I wish I could talk to Shepard this could make trouble for him,start a war with the jellyfish,but saving my people is more important."

"It will not start a war,I have a plan to stop that from happening,it's the reason I am on my way to earth." Miranda said with a determination that Wrex admired.

"Well I hope your plan works,Shepard has enough on his plate without a war. Good luck."

"To us both." Miranda said and then the com went dead.

"Are you really going into battle." Mordon asked looking up at his father.

"Yes I am." Wrex answered simply. "It is a battle that will save our people. Now run along and play I have to talk to your mother and get ready."

The boy nodded and turned to go but then Wrex decided to say the words to his son that he had never heard from his father. "Son please remember that no matter what happens to me I am proud of you and I love you."

These where not natural words to hear from a Krogan and the boy looked confused and then nodded to show that he had heard before running off. The child didn't really understand and Wrex had felt a little foolish saying it but if he had learned anything from his time with Shepard it was that no one could predict what tomorrow would bring and it was best to not leave things unsaid.

Wrex then walked towards the back of the house to find his mate and his body armor. He had a lot to do to get ready. Urdnot Wrex was going to war again and he had to win. The fate of the Krogan people depended on it.

**Well that is chapter 35. Sorry it was so short but I have a brand new story I started working on that is taking up some of my time. Also I decided to post shorter chapters quicker. Well I hope you liked it. I am going in a rotation on my stories so tomorrow I should have a new chapter of Recovery for those of you who are following that story,then a new chapter of my new story and then Chapter 36 of this story should be up on Sunday. Any way I hope this was worth your time. Thanks for the support.**


	38. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Shepard turned his head when he heard the door to the hospital room open. He saw Tali entering followed by and three Asari nurses. They were pushing in a large wheelchair with them. Well it was called a wheelchair but in reality it uses tiny mass effect fields to float an inch or two off of the ground. The chair it's self was padded and looked comfortable. There seemed to be a number of controls on the armrests. It's base was round and over all it didn't take up much more room then a man standing,so it looked as if Shepard would be able to get around alright in it.

The group made their way to Shepard's bed. Dr,Chalkwas was the first to speak. "Oh,good you are awake. Then we can get you into this chair and get it adjusted right away." The gray haired woman said.

"Well looks like I am going to be up and about soon,told you that you couldn't get rid of me this easily." Shepard said as he shot a grin in Tali's direction.

"Drat! My best laid plans foiled!" Tali shot back.

"Well what can I say life is tough sometimes." Shepard replied.

Doctor Chalkwas then cleared her throat to get their attention. "If the John and Tali comedy hour is finished I would like to get on with this. I do have other people to take care of." The older woman said.

"Of course,whenever you are read Doctor." Shepard said with a wave of his hand. Tali noted that he seemed much more cheerful then she had expected. There was something about the cheer that seemed forced and rubbed her the wrong way. In a way she would have liked it better if he was screaming and cursing,at least that would have seemed normal to her. She was afraid of what would happen when this wall Shepard seemed to be putting up came down. She didn't have to wait long to find out.

Tali and Chalkwas helped Shepard to sit up and then the nurses helped them lift him up out of bed. They were seating him down in his wheelchair for the first time when it happened. It was then when it was taking five people to get him out of bed and into a damn chair that it hit him like a load of bricks. All Shepard could do was think about everything he was going to miss in life and how unfair it was. The footage of all the things he would not be able to do any more began playing an endless maddening loop in his head. It ranged from simple things like getting up in the night to go to the bathroom to the more complex things like the fact that if someone came after his family again he would not be able to protect them. He was supposed to be protecting everyone in the galaxy and now here he was unable to get out of bed on his own. He had taken on the Reapers and yet a random merc bullet had taken him down. What kind of father could he be now that he could not walk?! None of this was fair and it all hit him at once.

As he was being lowered into the chair he shocked everyone by going through a random mood swing,he started crying. He was crying hard but quietly. He was Shepard he never cried but at that moment he couldn't stop himself. No one seemed to know what to do besides getting him into the chair. Tali's hands started to shake as she helped lower him the last few inches. It was as if all the weight of everything that had happened had fallen on him at once and it was too much to bare. and the nurses were busy getting him situated in the chair and all Tali could think to do was to cradle Shepard's head and keep gently whispering "It will be okay." over and over again.

Tali hoped she was telling the truth,the only thing she did know what that it was not going to be an easy transition.

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Miranda Lawson flew herself down to Earth because she didn't want anyone else to know exactly where she was going. The location she was trying to find was not on any of the maps. It was a rustic farm house a few dozen miles from the nearest town on the eastern seaboard of North America. It was surrounded by trees and had only one winding dirty road leading to it and the land it sat in the middle of. It was exactly the type of place the Reapers had ignored when they had invaded earth. Miranda looked for a place to land on the farm land but there was none big enough for a shuttle,it was all being used to grow something. She finally found a clearing in the woods to the north about half a mile away from the house and landed her shuttle there. She then made the trek through the woods. There was no clear path so it took her about half an hour and she was pushing tree branches vines with barbs on them out of her way the whole time. All the while taking swipes mesketoes and other bug. At last she reached the farm land and was greeted by a not so friendly voice.

"Leave now Human,I own this land and do not wish to speak with anyone." The Prothean said. It was strange seeing Javik the way his was. Miranda had only met him briefly a few times before but seeing the Prothean in very large human civilian clothes standing in the middle of farm land was odd none the less.

Miranda was not going to be deterred at that point. "Wait Javik I am here because Shepard needs your help." She called out.

This got Javik's attention and he took a few steps closer to get a better look at the human woman. "You are the female known as Lawson. Shepard thought highly of you. I will listen to what you have to say but I will not promise to go with you. Shepard made it clear when we last met that I didn't owe him anything and since I have found peace living a simple life here,I do not wish to leave." Javik said gruffly and then fixed Miranda with a gaze that unsettled her. She couldn't put her finger on what it was about the Prothean looking at her that she didn't like so she decided to push past it.

Miranda then went on to explain everything they knew about what the Hannar and Cerberus were doing and she finished by informing him that they were about to make a military strike against the Hannar. Javik just stood there,He was completely unreadable and Miranda's story didn't seem to have any effect on him. It was a whole minute after she finished talking that he chose to speak.

"So you want me to go to the Hannar home world and play god." Javik said at last. "I will not do that. My people played god once before with your races and it ended with us destroyed. I will not pretend to be something I am not."

"I am asking you to undo the damage you already did!" Miranda said and there was anger in her voice. "You don't have to play god all you have to do is tell the Hannar that this isn't what you want. They are only doing this because they think it's what your people want them to do. You will not be playing god."

"It is the same thing Human. The Hannar worship my people as gods and nothing will change that so if I go to them I will be worshiped. I don't wish to be worshiped." Javik said harshly.

Miranda was about to respond when suddenly there was a loud noise and a gust of wind that nearly knocked them to the ground. They looked up in time to see a white shuttle pass over head and then begin hovering about fifty feet above the opposite end of the field.

"Are they with you?" Javik demanded.

"No,I came alone so that no one else would know where you were." Miranda answered puzzled. It had taken her a long time to piece together enough information and to find the patterns that lead her to Javik and she was sure she had covered her tracks well when she went down to see him. She wondered who the new people could be. A second latter her worst fears were confirmed. The door to the shuttle opened and a group of armored troops jumped out. They used rockets on their boots to slow their decent and they landed in the tomato patch.

"Those look like Cerberus troops!" Javik said shooting an accusing glance at Miranda.

"They aren't with me. They must have tracked me somehow. I only brought a pistol with me,we need to find cover!" Miranda yelled back.

"Cover me I need to get to my house,I still have my old riffle there!"

Miranda then brought up a barrier to protect herself and began firing her pistol as Javik dashed off to her right. He made a bee line for his small farm house as Miranda kept shooting. She couldn't hope to take down any of the Cerberus troops at the long range with a pistol but she did distract them All six of the terrorists began closing in on her.

Miranda took as second to look around weighing her options and trying to figure out what her odds of making it out alive were,she didn't like them. There were four **Centurions** and two Phantoms arranged in a semicircle closing in on her with the Phantoms on either end. They all head heavy shields and weapons and if any of them got in close she would be in a hand to hand fight with highly trained killers. The Phantoms were her biggest worry because of how fast they were. There was also the fact that if she brought down her barrier to use one of her other biotic skills she would be hit by bullets from six different weapons so she had to take them down with her pistol and she only had two extra clips for it.

There was no cover to speak of anywhere so as risky as it was Miranda decided that she needed to close the distance so that her pistol would be effective. She also decided that she needed to take out the Phantoms first. She didn't want one of them coming up behind her and stabbing her in the back latter. With this in mind she began to run at the Phantom that was on her left hand side. She closed to within about fifty yards and then began firing. The Phantom easily dodged her shots. Then the other woman pulled out her sword. Miranda knew she didn't have much time so she did something unexpected. She charged head first into the Phantom and just barely missed being stabbed by the sword. They both fell to the ground with Miranda on top and before the Phantom could react Miranda pressed her pistol to the woman's chest and fired three times. All three shots went straight through her heart and came out the other side. The Phantom was dead.

Miranda then looked up just in time to see a centurion close in on her and start to fire. Miranda rolled to her left off of the body and the bullets missed her. She then empty the rest of the clip in her pistol into her enemy's shields but it didn't seem to have any effect. Miranda decided she had to switch tactics. Trying to hold out wasn't going to work. Her barrier and her ammo would not last forever. She would have to risk getting hit and use offensive biotics. She quickly reloaded her pistol and then saw that all five remaining enemies were about twenty feet from where she was. What she was about to do was very risky and if she screwed up she would be dead. She took a deep breath and then made her move.

Her tactic in attacking the first Phantom had brought the other five terrorist closer together. They had closed ranks to take her down and at that moment they were close enough that if Miranda timed it just right she could hit them with a single biotic attack. As they continued to close she quickly brought down her barrier and let loose with a heavy throw field. All five of the Cerberus troops were knocked back about ten feet and they were all on the ground. In heavy battle armor it was hard for them to get up so that was when Miranda attacked. At close range she emptied a clip into two of the centurions and they fell to dropped two the ground dead. That was when Miranda's luck ran out,one of the centurions hit her in the right shoulder,she fell backwards crying out in pain. The bullet had gone right through her and she struggled to get back up but the Troops were closing in on her. She tried to bring up a barrier but she was too weak.

Then suddenly the remaining Phantom seemed to be consumed in energy and was vaporized. It was Javik,he had found his pulse riffle and was charging at the two remaining Cerberus troops.

"STOP DESTROYING MY TOMATO PLANTS!" The Prothean yelled. He grabbed the one Centurion by the head and twisted it off with his bare hands. Then before his partner could react he closed in on him,twisted the sword out of his hand,and used it to run the last Cerberus trooper through. Javik then looked up just in to to see that the Cerberus shuttle was leaving. He then ran over to Miranda would was laying in the dirt in a pool of her own blood.

"Are you badly hurt Lawson?" He asked as he bent down to look at her wound.

"I think so." Was all she could say through the pain. "They will come back with more troops." Javik nodded that he understood this. "My shuttle landed in a clearing in the woods." Was all she managed to say before she passed out from the pain.

Javik thought he knew which clearing she meant so he picked up the human female and began to walk slowly in that direction. Javik sighed to himself it seemed that weather he liked it on not he was about to be at the center of important galactic events once again. Still he didn't care what happened he wasn't about to repeat his people's mistake of playing god again. He would find some other way to deal with the problem that was facing him.

**Okay that was chapter 36. Sorry again for the wait but I got busy. Well I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for your support.**


	39. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

The shuttle picked up Urdnot Wrex at the space port and took him up to the waiting Quarian cruiser Reger. Wrex had said his goodbys to his family at home,the way a Krogan warrior should before heading into battle. He had then shifted his focus to the task at hand. He wasn't sure what to expect on the Hanar home world since he had never had to fight Hanar before but he was sure of himself. He had defeated many enemies in his time and no Jellyfish was going to take him down. Then there was the fact that they were making a new version of the genophage,stopping that was important so Wrex had determination on his side as well. His only worry was how good the Spectres who were under his command were. He knew Shepard had been good but not everyone could be Shepard. He hoped they would not be dead weight or stand in the way of what needed to be done. They had been put under Wrex's command but Wrex hand been around long enough to know that politics could still rear it's ugly head even in the most straight forward of deals and missions.

To Wrex's surprise the first person to walk up and meet him when he stepped out of the shuttle and into the empty shuttle bay was not a Quarian at all,but a Salarian.

"Hello Jondum Bau Special Tactics and Recon. The other Spectres have elected me team leader for this mission and I have been ordered to answer directly to you. I hope this mission will go well." The Salarian explained.

Wrex grunted an acknowledgment of the Salarian's greeting. The genophage may have been cured years ago but Wrex hadn't forgotten what the Salarians had done to his people or that Shepard had to force the cure down their throats. The Salarians were always quick to use the Krogan as pawns in galactic wars but were always slow to treat them like members of the galactic community. For this reason Wrex had as little to do with them as possible and he hoped the coming mission would be a short one.

For his part Bau seemed to either not notice the slight or at least to have been expecting in because he went on as if nothing had happened. He spoke quickly and got to the point as most Salarians did. This was at least something Wrex could respect. "We will be at the Hanar home world in about ten hours. I have prepared intel on the facility we will be attack. This ship has the latest stealth drive so getting close should not be a problem. There are either Spectres on board including myself. I have been elected team leader for the duration of this mission as I said and per director Lawson's orders you are in over all charge of the mission. Do you have any questions,sir?"

Wrex decided that there was no reason to pick a fight with the Salarian but he still didn't like working with him. "None right now." He said dryly and then made his way to the shuttle bay doors. "Show me this intel so we can come up with an attack plan." he then turned and faced the Jondum who was running to catch up. "Just remember I am in charge and we are not letting the Genophage get loose no matter what!"

"Those are my orders,sir." Bau replied,if he felt any emotions he wasn't showing them to Wrex.

"Alright then let's get to work." Wrex said and then then exited the shuttle bay together.

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Jacob Taylor raced to docking bay F-42 on the Citadel. There were med techs and a doctor waiting for the shuttle to dock when he got there. He didn't know much. All he knew was that he had gotten a call from Javik of all people saying there had been an attack and Miranda had been hurt. Jacob had not even known that Miranda had left the station or that she had known where Javik was. Last he had heard only Shepard knew of the Prothean's location and he hadn't told anyone else. It was just like Miranda to go running off and try to handle things herself. Jacob knew he had a lot on his own plate at the moment but right then as he stood in the docking bay waiting to find out just how bad things were he wished his old friend was a little less headstrong. He knew that normally she could deal with anything on her own,but things were far from normal at that moment. "Damn it Miranda,why didn't you tell me about any of this!" Jacob said to himself as he paced back and force waiting for the shuttle to show up. It seemed to be taking hours when really it was only minutes.

Finally the shuttle landed. Jacob and the med techs rushed over with a stretcher and reached the shuttle just as the door swung open. When they got there they found Miranda laying on the floor with a gunshot wound to her chest. She was breathing and medigel had been applied but she was not awake and she had lost a lot of blood.

"Is she going to be okay?" Jacob asked the young Turian female med tech who was working on Miranda.

"Sir I am sorry but I can't say yet." The Turian replied.

"Why not?" Jacob asked clearly upset.

"I'm sorry but the bullet is near her heart and she has lost a bit of blood. We need to get her into surgery at Huerta Memorial right away." The med tech responded.

Jacob could only manage to respond with a shocked "Okay." He then helped the med tech get her onto the stretcher and followed them as they put her on the waiting ambulance which then took off in the direction of the hospital as fast as it could go. Jacob then turned and spotted Javik getting out of the shuttle. Having no one else to take it out on Jacob turned the full force of his anger and frustration on the Prothean.

"What the hell happened down there?!" Jacob demanded.

"They were your people not mine and the female brought them to my door." Javik responded coldly.

"What was she even doing there and how did she manage to get shot?" Jacob was not backing down.

"She disturbed me because she wanted me to play god with the Hanar,that is not my purpose so I will not do it." Javik explained with some anger showing in his own voice.

"Sounds to me like she was asking you to help clean up the mess your people helped make." Jacob fired back.

"This is your cycle Human and it's problems are your's!" Javik replied.

"Did it ever cross your mind that we wouldn't have half these problems if your people hadn't messed with use thousands of years ago to try and make us better slaves?!" Jacob yelled.

"We were trying to save the galaxy." Javik pointed out.

"So getting whole races to worship you and live as slaves for all time was just a side benefit?! Jacob got into Javik's face at this point. Javik didn't rise to the bait and hit him he just pushed his way past the Human and made his way to call a taxi.

"If you really care about the clone,Human maybe you should track where the Cerberus forces that attacked her came from or at least go to the hospital and find out if she is even alive." He fired back at Jacob who was racing up behind him.

"Wait did you say Cerberus?!" Jacob asked shocked.

"Yes I did,it seems they were not destroyed as we believed." Javik replied calmly.

"Yeah we have known that for a while but this is bad. It's means they are on Earth and they some how knew where Miranda was going when she didn't even tell me." Jacob said gravely.

It was about that time that the taxi pulled up and Javik got inside. "Sounds like you have problems Human. I will be on the Citadel for a while if I can help I will but I will not repeat my people's mistake of playing god again." Then the cab door swung shut and Javik was gone. Jacob then made his way to his car. He wanted to go to the hospital but he also had a lot of work to do. Things were falling apart faster then he thought if Cerberus was on Earth.

As he started his car his com unit beeped. It was a message from C-sec. "Sir I have been trying to get a hold of you." A female voice said on the other end. "We just intercepted a message from the Alliance first fleet. They have found the 5th fleet and are preparing to engage within the hour."

"Thank you." Jacob said as he pulled his car into the parking lot of Huerta Memorial Hospital.

"Finally some good news." Jacob said to himself as he stepped out of the car.

**Okay I swear this chapter was cursed. This is at least the tenth time I have had to rewrite it because my computer crashed and took the chapter with it. I am not joking about that. What makes it worse is that it is such a short chapter that is just about connecting events plot wise. It is really hard to motivate yourself to rewrite something like this again after the first half dozen times. I am really really sorry about the wait when you guys have been so great and I am saving up for a new computer so please just hang in there. Thanks for your support.**


	40. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

"I have just never seen him this bad before and I am worried about him." Tali said with the concern showing in her voice. She had run into her old friend Kasumi Goto when she left the medbay to get some food for her husband and they had started talking about how things were going. It had not taken long for them to get onto the subject of how Shepard was dealing with having to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

"Why does everyone always seem to come to me with their problems?" Kasumi said with a sigh. "First Garrus and now you. What kind of insight could I have? I'm just a thief looking for a good time,I don't know anything."

"Wait! You and Garrus?!" Tali said with disbelief in her voice. "When did this happen?"

"It's not what you think it's just a bit of fun,really I shouldn't have said anything." Kasumi said quickly. "Besides don't you have more important things to think about then who I have had a fling with?"

"If it's just a fling why even bring it up and why would Garrus talk to you about his problems?" Tali asked. She liked having Kasumi on the defensive for once,normally it was the other way around when they talked.

"Look it's no big deal and I shouldn't of said anything,now what about Shepard has you worried?" Kasumi said changing the subject.

"Well it's just he completely broke down and I have seen that before but he did it in front of other people and to a degree I have never seen before. It just felt off and I feel like he is not the same man he was before." Tali tried to explain but she wasn't sure she was making any sense.

"Well of course he isn't the same person. Big events change people. Do your really think the person you met on the citadel was the same person who grew up on a colony? For that matter was the man you married really the same man you met on the citadel?" Kasumi asked pointedly.

"I guess your right when it comes down to it I guess I am not the same person I was either,you're right life changes us." Tali admitted. "Still I just hope he doesn't change so much that I lose him."

"Then be there for him and remind him of what he hasn't lost. That may sound sappy but it's the best I have." Kasumi said.

"I know it's just so unfair after all we have been through and all he has lost,to lose the use of his legs. How much more is he supposed to take?! I am afraid this may have broken him." Tali said with fear showing in her voice.

"Tali he may have lost a lot but he has gained a few things jut make sure he remembers that." Kasumi said giving her friend a hard look.

"Yeah,thanks. I guess I just needed to hear that out loud or I just needed to rant to someone about all this." Tali said and Kasumi could tell she was smiling under her mask.

"Hey sometimes we all need to rant." Kasumi said lightly.

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Shepard was still in the hospital room getting used to using his new wheelchair. Everyone else seemed to be asleep but now that he had calmed down from his outburst he wanted to get use to the chair. He didn't want to be helpless,he hated being helpless so he was going to get use to this chair. had told him that after a while using the chair should become as natural as walking,Shepard couldn't wait for that day to get there. At the moment he was lurching around and running into walls like a drunken sailor. Every time he hit a wall he cursed. and one of the Asari nurses had tried to help Shepard operate the chair but he wouldn't let them,this was something he had to learn to do on his own. He didn't know which made him more mad the fact that he was in wheelchair or the fact that he couldn't steer the damn thing to save his life. The only think he could say in the chair's favor at that moment was that it was comfortable.

"When are you going to learn how to drive? This is the Mako all over again." The voice came from behind Shepard and he turned around to face his old Turian friend Garrus who was sitting up in his hospital bed.

"Hey we always got out alive,so stop complaining." Shepard retorted.

"Yeah just barely,how many times did you nearly tip that thing over." Garrus pointed out.

"Hey there were Geth firing rockets at us while we were half way up a mountain most of those times,I'd like to see you do better." Shepard shot back.

"Oh I could,it's just you would never let me drive." The Turian bragged.

"That's because I have seen you try to multitask. Remember that time you tried to pick up that Asari bartender and tell me about your ideas for upgrading the Normandy's weapons systems but on Novaria? Plus The Mako's controls were made with human hands in mind and in case you haven't noticed we have five fingers not three." Shepard said and at that moment he was just glad they were talking about something other then his future. He was sick of thinking about the chair he was stuck in.

"Hey that's not fair you distracted me. Kept coming up with questions every time I started to make some headway." Garrus protested.

"Face it you may be one of the best snipers out there but if I had let you get your hands on the Mako's controls we would not be here now." Shepard insisted.

"One of the best Best?!" Garrus echoed. "Do you know anyone else who could drop a brute with a single shot at five hundred feet?"

"Yeah,me for one." Shepard boasted.

"Yeah,so then why did I have to save you from that brute on Tukunka?" Garrus asked.

"Hey that thing charged out of nowhere and I did have a Reaper shooting at me if you remember." Shepard pointed out.

"All I keep hearing are excuses from the guy I beat in a sniping contest at the top of the Citadel." Shepard was about to respond to this when he heard a small voice calling to him,he turned to his left and saw he daughter Raan standing beside him. She looked cute in her little suit holding onto her teddy bear but he could tell she was upset even without being able to see her face. "Daddy I had a scary dream." The young Quarian said.

Shepard turned his chair so he was facing her before replying. His first instinct was to pick her up and place her on his lap but he couldn't do that any more. "_Damn it! What good am I to anyone if I can't even pick Raan up!"_ Shepard thought to himself. Still he managed to push that thought aside for the moment and focus on the girl in front of him. "I'm sorry. You know a dream can't hurt you." Shepard said looking down at her.

"I know but it's scary." Raan replied.

"Well why don't you climb up onto my lap and tell me about it,would that make you feel better?" Shepard said kindly.

"I guess." The girl said and with a bit of effort she managed to climb up and sit down on her father's lap. Some of her climbing caused Shepard pain but he didn't let it show on his face,the last thing he wanted his daughter to know was that she was hurting him.

"So do you want to tell me about your dream?" Shepard asked gently looking down at the girl in his lap.

Garrus tried to mind his own business but he was kind of surprised to see this side of his old friend. Normally when they were together they brought out the toughness in each other and while he knew Shepard had a softer side he had never really seen him like this. It was just so odd to see his old friend and the toughest soldier that he knew acting and speaking like Shepard was at that moment. Turian life revolved around the military so families weren't treated all that differently from comrads in arms who you were training for future service. This was a whole different way of life that Garrus had never had the chance to see up close before.

"I dream...that those bad people came back...and they took me again...it's was so scary." Raan said weakly and then the little girl began to cry. _"Man I really have failed at this whole being a father thing!"_ Was all Shepard to think to himself but he tried not to let how he was feeling show since he knew it wouldn't help Raan.

Shepard hugged the girl to his chest and said the only thing he could think of at that moment. "I'm so sorry that happened to you but those people can't hurt you now."

"But what if they came back?" The girl asked looking up at Shepard.

"They will not be able to take you,I promise." Shepard said firmly.

"Besides your uncle Garrus is here and he wouldn't let them get anywhere near you." Garrus piped in.

"You wouldn't?" Raan asked sniffing and turning to look at Garrus.

"No I will not. I am a Spectre and the best shot in the galaxy,there is no way they will get anywhere near you." Garrus said proudly as he looked down at the girl.

"Do you feel better?" Shepard asked.

"A little." The girl replied quietly.

"Good." Shepard said with a smile. "I am never going to let anything happen to you again,okay?"

"Okay." Raan said.

It was at that moment that Tali entered carrying a tray of Asari food.

"Well I see someone is up." She said lightly as she walked over the Shepard and Raan.

"I had a bad dream but then I talked to dad and I am not scared any more." Raan said sounding almost happy.

"Well that is good,Raan do you want to come over here and talk to me so your father can eat?" Tali said.

"Okay." Raan replied as she hopped off of Shepard's lap.

Tali then walked over and handed Shepard the tray of food which he took and placed on his lap. "So what is this chicken or fish?" Shepard asked as he looked at the alien food on the tray.

"I have no idea but they said it was safe for you to eat." Tali replied.

"I guess I will give it a shot but I haven't been this scared since I went up against the Reapers." Shepard joked and then he took a bite of the food. "It's not bad but I am still not sure what it is."

"Pablo was scared too but he is feeling better now." Raan said calling out for her mother's attention.

"Well that is good. He is a brave bear." Tali responded.

"Yes he is." The girl agreed and then she decided to ask a question. "Mom why is dad in that strange chair?"

Tali had been hoping this question would not come up until she and Shepard had had a chance to talk about it and how they would break the news to the kids but she didn't see any way to side step the question that wouldn't make breaking the news latter harder so she decided to answer the question as best she could at that moment. "Well in is a wheelchair." Tali started to explain as she stooped down to her daughter's level. "Your father is in it because he needs it."

"But I thought only sick people who couldn't walk needed wheelchairs. Is daddy sick?" The girl asked worried.

"I am afraid he is." Tali said gently.

"Does this mean he is going to die?" Raan asked and Tali could tell the girl was on the verge of tears.

"No he is fine!" Tali added quickly and then hugged the girl. She waited for Raan to calm down before she continued. "He was just badly hurt and his legs don't work any more so he needs the chair,but he is alright and he is not leaving us. Do you understand?" Tali was afraid she was not doing a very good job handling the situation but the girl in her arms seemed to be calming down.

"But how can he be okay if he can't walk?" Raan asked.

"Because I am still alive and I am still here with you all,that's what matters." Shepard injected. He had managed to his chair around and join Tali and Raan. "Look I am right here and I am fine. See."

Raan looked up at him,she seemed to be calming down but she was still confused and worried. "But aren't there a lot of things you can't down now?" She asked.

"Yes I guess there are." Shepard answered honestly. "But there are still a lot of things I can do and the most important thing is that I will be around to see you grow up big and strong."

"You promise." Raan asked with a sniff.

"Cross my heart." Shepard said with a weak smile. "Now why don't you climb up here and I will show you how the controls work." Shepard said and he handed his empty food tray to Tali.

"Okay." The girl said and she climbed up onto her father's lap.

Tali then walked over to Garrus as the wheelchair lurched across the room. "Don't worry." Garrus said gently. "I know Shepard and he will get through this."

"Yes I guess we will." Tali said with a sigh.

"I have never seen him back down from a fight and he has more to lose now then ever before. He will win this thing." Garrus said firmly.

"Well I hope you are right." Tali replied.

"I am always right." Garrus said confidently.

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On the Citadel Jacob Taylor had just been shown into a waiting room in Huerta memorial hospital by a Vorcha nurse when Oriana Lawson,Miranda's sister came running it.

"What happened?" She asked asked and she was clearly in a state of panic. "I just got a call from the hospital saying that Meri has been shot. What the hell is going on here?!"

"I don't know much more then you do at the moment." Jacob began to explain but he was interrupted.

"How can you not know?!" Oriana demanded. "You mean whatever she was doing she was doing alone!"

"I'm sorry she didn't tell anyone. She went down to Earth and was attack by Cerberus troops and she got shot in the chest,that is all I know." Jacob explained,he remained calm no matter what Oriana said.

"How could this happen?!" Oriana fumed and at that moment she was just as mad if not madder at her sister then she was at Jacob.

"I'm sorry." Jacob said with a sigh. "But you know how she can get some times and how good she is at keeping secrets. I really had no idea she was going down there and if I had known I would have made her take a team."

"Yeah,I know." Oriana said as she slumped into a chair. "It's not your fault. Us Lawson woman can be a handful. I wish my sister had someone she would listen to who could give her a reason to pull back and do something with her life besides take stupid risks with it."

"You and me both." Jacob said simplely.

"So what do we know?" Oriana asked,she was calm now.

"Well she is going into surgery,and they will come and tell us when they are done." Jacob said taking the chair opposite Oriana.

"I hope she will be okay." Oriana said quietly,more to herself then to anyone else.

"She will be,it will take more then a bullet to stop you sister and I wouldn't want to be Cerberus when she gets back up." Jacob said.

"Yeah,me either." Oriana said with a weak smile then began to process what Jacob had just said. "Wait,you said it was Cerberus who shot her? I thought they had been wiped out at the end of the war?" She asked shocked.

"So did we but they are back and causing all sorts of trouble." Jacob said and then he held up his hand. "I can't tell you any more,it's top secret."

"You,Meri,and all your secrets. Sometimes I feel like I have no idea what is really going on in this galaxy." Oriana said with a huff.

"Yeah it's sucks,but rules are rules." Was all Jacob could offer in return.

"I just wish my sister would follow those rules all the time and not get herself shot." Oriana remarked sadly.

"Well when she sees how mad I am believe be she will not dare break those rules again." Jacob said.

"And if she will not listen to you I will lock her in her room!" Oriana added with a grin. "We have to keep her alive. She may not think she has anything to live for but she will find something some day. We just have to keep her alive until then."

"You really believe that?" Jacob asked.

"I have to because anything else is just too depressing to think about." Oriana explained with a heavy sigh. Jacob nodded that he agreed. Still if he was being honest with himself he thought that Oriana was painting too rosy a picture. Recent events like Bryyn turning out to be a spy had taught him that things rarely worked out that way and that most good things that came your way would be snatched away at some point. Still Oriana was young and he didn't see any point in destroying her deloisions at that moment. He was just glad she wasn't in a blind panic so he let her have her false hope for the time being.

It was just then that Jacob's omni-tool beeped,he was receiving a message. He stood up and walked across the room before answering it so he would not bother Oriana. The message was from C-Sec command.

"What is it?" Jacob asked.

"Sir you wanted a report as soon as we knew anything about the engagement between the first and the fifth fleets." A female voice on the other end explained.

"Yes,what has happened?" Jacob asked. He could really use some good news at that moment.

"Well sir we have lost all communications with the first fleet." The woman said.

"So we don't know what is going on and they may have been wiped out?" Jacob asked concerned.

"No sir we have a sensor drone in the Exodus cluster so we know that fire has not been exchanged and that is the weird part." The woman explained.

"What has happened?" Jacob asked.

"Sir the two fleets seem to be joining together,they are assuming a standard joint fleet formation." the voice said sounding a little worried.

"But that doesn't make any sense." Jacob said thoughtfully. "Even if Admiral Hanson did convince the fifth fleet to give up without a fight they wouldn't assume a joint fleet formation. The only reason they would do that is if they were working together." Jacob paused for a second letting the full weight of what he had just said hit him. Things were very bad there were now at least two human fleets on the side of Cerberus and there were Cerberus troops on Earth who were able to track Miranda's movements. Not since the war had things been this bad. Jacob kept calm and then decided on a course of action. "Do we know what the fleet is doing now?" he asked.

"They seem to be headed for the system's mass relay." Came the answer and it was just the one Jacob hoped not to get. The Exodus cluster's mass relay hooked up directly with the one belonging to the Sol system so that could mean both fleets could be at the Citadel in less then half an hour.

"Put C-sec on red alert." Jacob ordered quickly. "Call in all officers and have them get into full battle gear. Invasion protocols. Stop all in bound ships and get the vice President on the line. I am going to need his okay to close the arms so ships will not be able to dock." Jacob then dashed to the door and on his way he ran into a very upset looking Oriana. "Sorry but we have a real emergency on our hands and I have to okay."

"Okay." Was all Oriana could bring herself to say at first and then she added. "Be careful Jacob."

"You too,take care of Miranda." Jacob said and then he dash out the door. He had only minutes to prevent a disaster.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX

"I must say Urnot Wrex that your plan appears to be a sound one." Jondom Bau said at last. He and Wrex were sitting in a small map room where a 3D holo image of the building on the Hanar home world that they were due to attack in a few hours was displayed. The planning session had been a long and hard on. Wrex tended to reject everyone of Jondum's ideas out of hand and he questioned all the intel the Salarian had gathered. Salarians were above all practical so Jondum had decided not to make a fuss over the way Wrex was treat him,he knew it would not change anything. He just got on with the job still it had taken them more then three hours to get to the point where Wrex had a plan that Jondum thought would work without getting everyone killed. He had done a fairly good job avoiding rousing Wrex's anger but with that last sentence he had made a major misstep and Wrex took the chance to take offense.

"What do you mean appears?!" The Krogan challenged taking a step towards Jondum.

"We will only know if it is good after the mission is complete,there is no other way to test it." Jondum explained in his logical Salarian way,trying to avoid any sort of fight. At that moment he just wanted to get out of the map room and get a few hours sleep before the mission but Wrex wasn't about to let it go that easily.

"Listen you little Pijack I was fighting battles before your great grandfather was even born and I have scares to prove it!" Wrex yelled now just inches from Jondum's face.

"Scares the result of poor planing I would guess and I would wager money that most people you went into battle with did not come out alive." Jondum said pointedly,he had had enough of Wrex and was losing his temper despite his best efforts.

"Listen these scares are each a badge of honer,they show that I have shed blood for my people!" Wrex was no enraged and he shoved Jondum to the floor. "You wouldn't know anything about that since all Salarian's hide behind tricks and traps. You never stand up and fight like real men."

"If being real men means acting like Krogan then you are right we never have acted like real men." Jondum said his tone was cold,he knew he couldn't take Wrex in a fight so he let his words do the damage that his body couldn't. "Salarians never stupid enough to fire off nukes at our own people nearly wiping out all life on our own planet." This sent Wrex into a blind rage and he picked up Jondum by the throat and held him in the air choking him.

"You know nothing or our life and what the Genophage did to use so don't you dare lecture me!" Wrex yelled into Jondum's face.

Jondum saw that Wrex was distracted and used the opportunity to bring up his left leg and kick the Krogan in the chest hard. While Wrex was surprised by this he hit the Krogan with a biotic field and this caused Wrex to drop him to the floor. Jondum tried to catch his breath but Wrex charged at him with a yell. Jandum brought up a biotic field to protect himself but Wrex fired off one of his own. The two fields hit each other and both the Salarian and the Krogan were thrown back several feet. They both fell to the floor bruised and trying to catch their breath.

"If you refuse to work with Salarians because of the past you should have said so sooner. Bias understandable. Can never been true lasting peace between Salarains and Krogan but I was ordered to do a job and I will do it." Jandum said at last standing up.

"I can live with that,but know this I will never trust you Salarian." Wrex said as he stood up.

"Fine,if you will excuse me I must brief the rest of the team." Jandum said at last that then he pushed past Wrex and walked out the door. The mission was going to be a lot harder then he first expected.

**Well that is chapter 38. hope you liked it and thanks for your support.**


	41. I am so sorry

**I am so sorry because all of you have been so supportive and I am leaving you out on a limb but right now jobs are scarce where I live so I have no income and my computer doesn't work at all. The best I can get is that being able to go online for a few minutes every time I try to write my computer crashes and I lose everything. I am so sorry you have all been such great readers and your reviews have helped so much but I have no idea when I will get a working computer so I am going to have to call it quits. I just lost eight chapters and two novels I was working on. I can't repair my computer and I most likely will not be able to get one that works for a year or more so this is it for all of my stories. If anyone wants to continue any of my stories or use any of my characters or plots feel free to PM me and I will hand over my past chapters and any notes I have on where the stories were going if you want them. Thanks again for all of your support and I am so sorry but my awful luck of the past few years has left you all hanging. **

**You have all been so great,thanks a bunch you really helped me improve as a writer and I loved reading all of your reviews.**


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